A young man who lost his temper and rammed the vehicle in which his ex-partner was seated as passenger was placed under probation and ordered to tackle his anger problem by means of a Treatment Order.

Christian McKay, 28, from Żebbuġ, faced multiple charges relating to the incident which took place last February 5 in Cospicua. He was also charged over a separate incident in December last year when he had allegedly been involved in an argument with his former partner and had even hit the woman while the two were at the Cospicua police station.

The court heard how in the later incident, Mr McKay had been driving his Hyundai Accent in Cospicua when he rammed another vehicle of same make which was being driven by a man. His former partner was riding in the passenger seat.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, after hearing all evidence and upon the accused's own admission, declared the man guilty. However, when deciding upon the punishment, the court took into consideration the fact that the victim had forgiven her aggressor who was also the father of her child.

Acting upon the recommendations of a social inquiry report, the court placed the accused under probation and treatment orders for three years. It issued a three-year protection order in favour of the victim and her family.

The court declared that "the accused needs help to reform himself, to learn from his mistakes and to overcome whatever is keeping him back from living serenely as a law-abiding citizen".

The court further ordered a six-month ban on the man's driving licence.

Inspector Josric Mifsud prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.