A 24-year-old man was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, fined e200 and had his driving licence suspended for three months after he was found guilty of threatening the Chief Justice and his wife in a bout of road rage.

Roderick Pace, from Gzira, pleaded guilty to threatening Chief Justice and Mrs Vincent de Gaetano, making them fear that violence would be used against them, breaching the peace and reckless driving on 9 November 2007 on the Regional Road, St Julian’s.

In a statement, Pace recounted how he let a car pass him after it flashed its lights at him. Upon reaching the traffic lights at the Paceville junction, he left his car and knocked at the other car’s window asking why the lights were flashed at him. He did not know who was in the car and his reaction had nothing to do with the Chief Justice’s job.

According to a pre-sentencing report, Pace felt very sorry about the incident and wanted to apologise to Chief Justice and Mrs de Gaetano, which he eventually did in court. Pace was also going through a bad patch when the incident took place.

The report did not exclude that the bullying he was subjected to during his youth must have affected Pace. It described him as a quite man who did not have friends and avoids socialising. Pace was deemed as having a good upbringing and enjoyed the backing of his well-to-do parents.

He declared that the police and the courts treated him with the utmost fairness.

Magistrate Lawrence Quintano lauded the work carried out by the Probation Services who drafted the reports.

Police Inspector Martin Sammut prosecuted while Dr Edward Gatt was defence counsel.