Emanuel Zerafa, 56, who resides in Zebbug, was granted conditional discharge after he was found guilty of assaulting and threatening his 74-year old brother-in-law, Filippu Mifsud. He was acquitted of injuring Mr Mifsud and breaching public peace.

The dispute between the two men, who are related by law, started off over property inheritance.

During proceedings, the court heard two conflicting versions of what happened on 17 November 2013.

Fillippu Mifsud said that on the day in question, he had just cycled home from mass, when the accused approached him, pushed him off his bicycle, punched him in the face and started hitting him with a wooden plank.  As a result, his glasses were broken. Asked what initiated the incident, Mr Mifsud said that he had asked Mr Zerafa to remove his tractor from his backyard; however the latter failed to do so. Medical records confirmed slight injuries on Mr Mifsud.

In a conflicting version, Mr Zerafa said that the 74 year old had voluntarily got off his bike, and produced a penknife from his pocket. The accused said that at that point, he approached the elder man, who stepped back and tripped over his bicycle. Zerafa claimed that it was then that Mifsud injured himself. Pressed by the court on why he would approach the penknife rather than step back, the accused merely said he thought it was wise at the time.

The court ruled conditional discharge, and ordered Mr Zerafa to pay Mifsud €255 for breaking his glasses.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera presided; Inspector Roderick Agius prosecuted.