A man was jailed for seven months after admitting to assaulting police officers who asked him to step aside from ground fireworks during the Żebbuġ feast last month.
Alan Spiteri was told not to stay close to the pyrotechnic display in Sciortino Street on June 11, a court was told.
He refused and he put up a struggle when the officers intervened to remove him. He was arrested and while at the police station, he kicked an officer on the knee while also spitting at those around him.
He later released a statement saying that he was sorry for what he had done.
In court he admitted to insulting and threatening behaviour, assaulting a police inspector and four other officers, refusing to obey orders and slightly injuring one of them.
He also admitted uttering foul words and being drunk in public, refusing to give his personal details and breaching bail conditions.
Magistrate Joseph Gatt said the court would be failing if punishment did not reflect the gravity of the crime.
The court noted that the accused had apologised and registered an admission at the first hearing.
Although the punishment was to be imprisonment, it was to tend towards the minimum, concluded the court, sentencing Spiteri to a 7-month effective jail term and a €4,500 fine.
Inspector James Mallia prosecuted.
