(PR 411/26)
Twelve youths were fined around €2,000 between them which were paid on site following immediate action by the Police in Swieqi after they were found breaching public order and public peace.
This incident took place last Saturday when the Police received a report about a number of persons who were causing excessive noise in a block of apartments in Cannataci Street, Swieqi.
The Police arrived on site shortly, stopped the noise and took the necessary action according to law. The twelve persons were found responsible for contraventions related to the breach of public order and public peace, as well as the dumping of illegal waste and were given administrative fines on site.
Inspections were also carried out on site by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), where it was also established that eight (8) of the nine (9) apartments in the block were operating in breach of the applicable license conditions. Consequently, tourists staying in the affected apartments were asked to leave the place and relocated to alternative accommodation. The operator was also found to have breached the applicable regulatory conditions.
Therefore, the MTA initiated enforcement procedures by issuing an enforcement Notice and ordered the immediate cessation of operation of the whole block of apartments. Subsequently, the building was completely closed until the operator complied with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
During the weekend, the Police issued a total of 17 fines on site for various contraventions as part of its ongoing work, together with other entities, to protect the public order, enforce the law and ensure that operators observe their regulatory obligations.