The police called in Freddie Fenech for questioning on Wednesday night as they continued to investigate allegations that the founder of the Association for Abandoned Animals misappropriated funds.

Mr Fenech, a renowned dog lover and former CID officer, was held for five hours in a case that has provoked reactions of disbelief and dismay.

The story has led to intense debate, with the majority who posted comments on timesofmalta.com expressing astonishment at the news. Several came to Mr Fenech's defence and The Times received phone calls from people who felt it was high time action was taken. The Times broke the story on Wednesday as his helpers, who run the association's sanctuary in Luqa, came forward alleging that they were unable to account for donations made directly to Mr Fenech and that they remained in the dark as to where the money went.

For years, the helpers had kept their silence for fear nobody would believe them and also fearing possible retaliation. However, backed by Animal Welfare Department director Mario Spiteri, who requested police protection for them, five helpers plucked up the courage to file a police report against the man who for many was the champion of stray animals.

In the report, the helpers accused Mr Fenech of siphoning off funds, being cruel to animals and making threats.

Mr Fenech has denied all the accusations.

When contacted, he insisted he used the money to pay for the rent, which cost €465, the skip and food. He accused his helpers of making the report because they "want to be at the centre of attraction" and were bent on completely taking over his sanctuary.

The helpers, who have rarely if ever been in the limelight, said they were already running the sanctuary because Mr Fenech only showed up one morning a week. The only thing they wanted, they said, was to put an end to the disappearance of funds and to secure the dogs' safety.

Their version is corroborated by the account of four former helpers who recalled very similar circumstances at the time they were still active at the sanctuary.

These helpers too had filed a police report against Mr Fenech for misappropriation of funds in 2004 but they felt their claims were never taken seriously and so they left the AAA.

This was around the time that MaltaToday had reported that Mr Fenech had no accounts to show for the €32,611 raised by Winter Moods and others to help him settle an outstanding water bill of €7,686.

At the time, Mr Fenech defended himself by saying he had paid the pending water bill but was in dispute with the Water Services Corporation over pending bills issued on behalf of the person under whose name the water meter was registered.

Sources said the full bill remained unpaid. This was confirmed this week by Mr Fenech himself, who said he had only paid €2,329 and would not fork out any more money until the dispute with the other person was settled.

"We left because we were very worried about what could have happened to the money raised and we didn't want to get involved," one of his former helpers said when contacted yesterday.

"When other people began to question him about the money he came up with stories about us and said we had squandered our funds on gambling. I still have the book-keeping ledger of all the money we spent and on what.

"We don't know what happened to the cheques and donations he received in his name and he never told us who his benefactors were," the former helper added.

She recounted how when she first started volunteering she had heard stories about Mr Fenech but she had dismissed them, preferring to believe he was a "good man".

"When the new helpers started out at the sanctuary they too thought we were making up stories and trying to hang him. It took me five years to open my eyes, so I wasn't surprised when this news emerged - their story is identical to ours," she said.

She also recounted how Mr Fenech tended to overcrowd the sanctuary with strays, which would gather in packs and fight and kill each other. "The killing killed me," she said.

Mr Fenech has rebutted the allegations and insisted he cared for dogs all his life and would never sell or harm them.

The present helpers assured AAA members who had sponsored dogs that their money was being accounted for.

The donations sent to PO Box 24, Ħamrun, were also going towards the sanctuary's needs.

This was the helpers' main lifeline and without such funds they would be unable to continue operating, they said.

amassa@timesofmalta.com