Monument thieves jailed

Grazio Calleja, 48, from Tarxien and Anthony Cutajar, 46, from Ħamrun, pleaded guilty to having stolen the bust, which had been set up in memory of PC Mark Farrugia, the 24-year-old who was shot in the back at close range early in the morning of March 20, 1999 on the doorstep of his family home in Tarxien.

The monument to the slain constable was erected seven years after his death.

The men were also accused of stealing other items from a scrapyard, handling stolen goods and relapsing. Calleja alone was further charged with committing another theft from the same scrapyard a week before the theft of the monument.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, found the men guilty on the strength of their admission, sentencing Calleja to 4 years in prison with an additional six months for having breached the conditions of an earlier sentence. Cutajar was condemned to three years in prison.  A 3-year treatment order was also imposed on the men "so that they may address the vices that led to these proceedings."

Inspectors Chantelle Casha and Spiridione Zammit prosecuted.