Jordan Azzopardi, 32, of Iklin, was sentenced to seven months in prison after being found guilty of threatening two persons and assaulting a man and leaving him naked in the street.

Azzopardi, known as the El Chapo of Malta, was charged with another person that in June 2015 he had threatened a man and a woman, and assaulted the man.

He had initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea after the police had closed its submissions.

Magistrate Nadine Lia noted that Azzopardi never showed remorse and never apologised to the victim. He had changed his plea after 33 court sittings.

She said that although the prosecution and defence had agreed on a suspended sentence, she did not agree. This was not a case of a fight between friends that escalated, but a premeditated attack on someone who had been assaulted in public, and had ended up naked after the aggressive way he was attacked, the magistrate said.

She also noted that the victim needed hospital treatment for the injuries sustained. This kind of behaviour is not acceptable in society and the court believes that a suspended sentence is not enough in the circumstances.

She also ruled that Azzopardi, when he leaves prison, cannot approach the victims for three years.