A Italian student has been fined €15,000 and sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for four years- the maximum period permitted in law – after being caught vandalising stone at the Ggantija Temples in Gozo.

Heritage Malta said in a statement that it “unreservedly condemns an act of vandalism perpetrated yesterday at Ggantija, where an Italian student caused irreparable damage by etching letters on one of the main doorways of this Neolithic monument declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.”

The 18-year-old student was visiting the site as part of a school trip. Heritage Malta said that he was caught in the act by a security officer and the police were immediately summoned on site.

The youth was arraigned during an urgent session of the Gozo Court held on Monday, where he admitted to the charges brought against him.

Heritage Malta concluded by saying that, “having invested considerably over the past months in the enhancement of security at its museums and sites, voices its satisfaction at the timely intervention of the security officer involved in yesterday’s incident.”

Photo: Heritage Malta

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