A man who hit the headlines after he ejaculated onto a woman on a crowded public bus has been handed a suspended sentence by a court.

36-year-old construction worker Mohammed Mahmud Dirie made headlines last month after it emerged that he had masturbated onto a female passenger on the crowded number 14 bus which goes from Valletta to St. Julian’s.

The incident happened at around 10pm, with the victim being a French tourist who was on holiday in Malta at the time.

Dirie pleaded guilty to charges of public indecency, committing a non-consensual sexual act on a female bus passenger, subjecting her to unwanted acts of physical intimacy and other unwelcome sexual behaviours when he was arraigned last month.

He was released on bail pending his sentencing, and in a judgement handed down on Monday, Magistrate Gabriella Vella sentenced him to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Dirie’s cooperation with police, his early guilty plea, and his clean criminal record were taken into account by the court when determining his sentence, however Magistrate Vella warned of serious consequences if the accused were to commit another crime during the period of the suspended sentence.

Lawyer Yanika Bugeja was defence counsel. Inspector Saviour Baldacchino prosecuted.