diff --git a/abuild.in b/abuild.in
index 29c49e0..9d43099 100755
--- a/abuild.in
+++ b/abuild.in
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ sanitycheck() {
 	[ -z "$pkgname" ] && die "Missing pkgname in APKBUILD"
 	[ -z "${pkgname##* *}" ] && die "pkgname contains spaces"
 	[ -z "$pkgver" ] && die "Missing pkgver in APKBUILD"
-	[  "${pkgver##[0-9]}" == "$pkgver" ] && \
-		die "pkgver does not start with a digit"
+	apk version --check -q "$pkgver" ||\
+		die "$pkgver is not a valid version"
 	[ -z "$pkgrel" ] && warning "Missing pkgrel in APKBUILD. Using pkgrel=0"
 	[ -z "$pkgdesc" ] && die "Missing pkgdesc in APKBUILD"
 	[ -z "$url" ] && die "Missing url in APKBUILD"