A man was jailed for nine months on Tuesday after he admitted to having been in possession of an unlicensed weapon while out on bail pending drug-related proceedings.

Elliott Paul Busuttil, 34, of St Paul’s Bay, was charged, hours after his arrest, for carrying a knife in public without the necessary police licence, breaching bail, disturbing public peace and committing the alleged offences during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

Following a brief consultation with the prosecution and presiding magistrate Monica Vella, defence lawyer Ishmael Psaila informed the court that his client was entering a guilty plea.

In view of the accused’s drug dependency problem, Dr Psaila requested that his client be kept at the Drugs Unit at Mount Carmel Hospital and that he be recommended for rehabilitation.

“Are you ready to embark on a programme to address your condition?” Magistrate Vella asked, eliciting a reply in the affirmative from the man standing before her.

When asked further whether he fully understood the implications of his guilty plea, the accused answered that his plea meant he was “guilty for what I’ve done”.

Besides the jail term, he was also fined €116.

The court recommended that the accused be held at the Forensic Unit where he was to be followed by a medical team that would help him address his personal problems.

Inspector Godwin Scerri prosecuted.