A 40-year-old from Iklin was yesterday accused of seriously injuring an officer of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and impeding him from carrying out his duties.

Patrick Micallef, 40, pleaded not guilty to assaulting and seriously injuring Mepa officer Charles Debattista yesterday while he was carrying out inspections.

He also pleaded not guilty to disobeying Mepa orders and not allowing them to carry out inspections.

The court, presided over by magistrate Dennis Montebello set bail against a deposit of Lm150 and a personal guarantee of Lm500. He was also placed under house arrest for three days so that Mepa could carry out the interrupted inspections. Police inspector Paul Miruzzi prosecuted while Dr Chris Grima appeared for the defence.