A government employee was given a three-month jail term suspended for 12 months for insulting columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia through flyers.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli found Lawrence Galea of Zabbar guilty of distributing flyers showing Ms Caruana Galizia’s face and insulting words around the University in February 2008.

The flyers were printed on paper with the government's watermark.

The case was first brought to the attention of police by a woman who noticed Mr Galea driving around the university ringroad and throwing the flyers out of the car.

Ms Caruana Galizia herself later filed a formal complaint to police.