An English language student was slapped with a €4,000 fine and a suspended prison sentence today, a few hours after causing a commotion in Paceville.

Turkish national Kemal Burak Ozevci, 22, was arrested at around 1am after reacting violently when the police found him in a drunk state.  

Before duty Magistrate Doreen Clarke, the young man pleaded guilty to violently resisting public officers, insulting or threatening them and being drunk in a public area. He also admitted to breaching the 2008 Local Council bye-laws which prohibited the carrying of glass or unsealed alcohol containers in the Paceville area.

Defence lawyer Joseph Ellis explained that his client was truly sorry for all the trouble caused, although the young man did not clearly recall the incident since he was drunk at the time.

Pointing out that the accused was a student with limited financial means, the lawyer pleaded with the court to consider a punishment below the minimum €4,000 penalty for such violent resistance.

Inspector Nikolai Sant, handling the prosecution, suggested that the court could possibly lay down a timeframe within which the accused could pay the fine. Failure to do so could lead to his arrest by virtue of a European or International arrest warrant.

The court imposed a six month jail term suspended for two years and a fine of €4,000. He was also fined a further €65 for breaching the local bye-laws. The court granted him one year within which to pay the total €4,065 fine, warning the young offender that failure to do so would result in his being arrested and brought back to Malta to serve the six-month prison sentence.