A man was sentenced to 16 months jail after admitting to forcing himself upon a female passenger on a bus last Tuesday. 

Abdulahi Ahmed Bashir, 25, from Somalia, was arrested after police received a report of the attack which occurred around 3pm. 

Both the accused and the victim - a 22-year-old Maltese woman who cannot be named by order of the court  - were seated as passengers when the man allegedly groped the woman and attempted to kiss her. 

When the woman attempted to push the apparently drunk man off her, he allegedly bit her hand. The woman suffered slight injuries as a result. 

The man pleaded guilty to the indecent assault, having held the victim against her will and causing slight injuries.

The man, who had relapsed, was further charged with having been drunk in public, having led a vagrant and idle life and with having committed such wrongdoing during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

Upon hearing the man admit to all the accusations, duty magistrate Joseph Mifsud, declared him guilty and handed down a 16-month jail term.

The period of the accused’s suspended sentence, handed down in 2014, was extended by a further year, commencing from today.

The court also issued a 3-year Protection Order in favour of the victim. 

Inspector Charlotte Curmi prosecuted.

Lawyer Josette Sultana was legal aid counsel.