A 36-year-old man was jailed for two years and five months after he was found guilty of stabbing and seriously injuring another man in a road rage incident that occurred three years ago.

Żebbuġ resident Frankie Falzon was accused of stabbing fellow Żebbuġ resident Philip Micallef and grievously injuring him, of the unlawful possession of a knife, breaching the public peace, driving while drunk and breaching the conditions of a conditional discharge.

The case dates back to 17 April, 2011, when Mr Falzon was driving through Triq il-Kbira in his hometown, with his wife and three children as passengers while Mr Micallef and his wife were heading in the opposite direction.

Due to parked vehicles and the narrow width of the street, neither car could proceed, but both men were reluctant to reverse their own car. However, Mr Falzon subsequently started reversing his car after his daughter told him to do so.

According to Mr Micallef, Mr Falzon started banging on his window when the two cars were side by side, prompting him to exit the car to check whether any damage had been caused and to check Mr Falzon's car's number plate.

Mr Micallef said that as he was doing so, Mr Falzon came to him, and without speaking to him, touched him and went back to his car. He said that he did not realise that he had been stabbed until his wife told him that he was bleeding.

His wife corroborated his version of events, and also said that she subsequently left the car, went towards Mr Falzon and took his car keys away to prevent him from driving off, insisting that he was not to leave before the police arrived. At this point, she said, Mr Falzon came out of the car once more and started to shout at her.

But Mr Falzon gave a different version of events, claiming that it was Mr Micallef who started to bang on one of his car's rear doors, where his daughter was sitting.

He said that Mr Micallef subsequently stopped his car and that both he and his wife came out, shouting at him while Ms Micallef took his car keys. Mr Falzon said that the situation made him fearful, leading him to grab the knife he held in his car and stab Mr Micallef to defend himself.

In court, Ms Falzon provided few details in her testimony, but she had provided more details when she was spoken to during the magisterial inquiry. She had said that Mr Micallef punched their car while they were driving through and that subsequently, both Mr Micallef and his wife came out of the car and started arguing.

She then said that she heard Ms Micallef mention a knife and insisting that the police should be called. Her husband, she added, entered the car to smoke a cigarette but since Ms Micallef believed that he was going to drive off, she came to take his car keys.

A breathalyser test carried out on Mr Falzon showed that his blood alcohol level was above the legal limit for driving.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke noted that while there were conflicting versions of what had happened, Ms Falzon had at least corroborated the Micallefs' version when she confirmed that Ms Micallef took the car keys after the stabbing occurred.

She also argued that there were other factors which put Mr Falzon's credibility in doubt, and ultimately found him guilty of all charges.

The magistrate noted that the case could have had far more serious consequences, noting that it was only through sheer luck that Mr Micallef's vital organs were not injured, save for a slight injury to his large intestine. She also pointed out that Mr Falzon failed to avail himself of the opportunities given to him to address his self-admitted alcohol problem and had prior criminal convictions.

In light of this, Magistrate Clarke argued that an effective jail term was appropriate, jailing him for two years over the case and an additional five months over the conditional discharge he had breached. He was also fined €116.47, ordered to pay €2,869.78 in court expenses and banned from driving for five years.

Inspectors Joseph Agius and Kylie Borg prosecuted.