A general hand employed at Erin Serracino Inglott girls's secondary school in Cospicua was condemned to a suspended sentence today after he was convicted of having assaulted and slightly injured the headmaster.

The incident happened on August 26, 2009.

The court heard that headmaster James Camilleri had called Mario Vella, 53, to his office to tell him that he could no longer take his adolescent children to school with him.

Mr Camilleri had decided on the course of action after CCTV footage showed how the children had tampered with the tyres of his car, deflating them.

The children were not students at the school but accompanied their father while they were on holidays.

Mr Camilleri told the court that after he told Mr Vella of his decision, he walked out of the office, but later returned in a rage, closed the door and started protesting in a loud voice. He also stood on his desk and eventually lashed out, eventually hitting him in the stomach.

Members of staff could not immediately enter the office because the door could not be opened from the outside. When they managed to open the door, three men were needed to hold Mr Vella.

In his evidence, the accused said  he was a single parent and had no-one to care for his children during their holidays. He said the headmaster used to order him to do things which other people should have been doing.

He had insisted with the headmaster that his children should be allowed to go to school with him, like other children were. He also asked the headmaster whether he needed to dance on his desk like other people did, in order to be able to take his children to the school.

Mr Vella said he had gone to the headmaster's office to tell him that if his children were not allowed at school with him, he would go out on leave. He denied locking the door and said the headmaster banged it, trapping his (the accused's) fingers and injuring him. However Mr Vella was not able to produce a medical certificate which he had said he had. Mr Vella said he had been the one to open the office door when  other members of staff turned up.

The court said the headmaster's version of events had been corroborated by other members of staff. It found the accused guilty on all counts other than that he had held the headmaster against his will.

Mr Vella was condemned to a six-month jail term suspended for two years.