Investigative journalist cleared of damaging temples' perimeter fence

A journalist on the Bondiplus team was yesterday acquitted of causing €1,165 (Lm500) damage to a fence surrounding the Mnajdra Temples in 2002.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Antonio Mizzi, found Jeremy James Camilleri not guilty of damaging the temples' perimeter fence on April 9, 2002.

The court took into consideration the fact that the television show Bondiplus had demonstrated how easy it was for a person to enter the temples and highlighted the vulnerability of the area to vandals. It noted that it was thanks to the TV show that certain measures to improve security of vulnerable sites had been introduced.

Although the TV programme had demonstrated that there was in fact a hole in the wire fencing, it did not show anyone actually cutting the wire, saying that the last time the fence was inspected was six days before the show was aired. Four watchmen employed on the site and who had testified in the case could not shed any light on what had happened, the court noted.

Lawyer Anthony Cremona appeared for the production company Where's Everybody?