A bus driver, who had been given a one-month detention for involuntarily slightly injuring two people when driving dangerously, had his punishment changed to a one-month jail term suspended for two years on appeal.

The Magistrates' Court had ordered that Elton Abela be detained for a month after being found guilty of failing to stop the vehicle on a bus stop, driving dangerously and recklessly and involuntarily injuring Barbara Bull and Reihard Klaus Amende.

Mr Abela appealed and called on the court to clear him of all charges. On evaluating the case, Mr Justice David Scicluna, who presided over the Court of Appeal, cleared Mr Abela of involuntarily injuring Mr Amende because he himself had testified that he did not suffer any injuries.

The judge also ruled that the punishment handed down was not within that prescribed by law, which laid down a fine not exceeding Lm100 or imprisonment not exceeding three months.

(The law distinguishes between detention and imprisonment. Although both involve a person being sent to jail, detention is the punishment for a contravention while imprisonment is the punishment for a criminal offence.)