Grave concern over text message

Two women angered that a relative sent an SMS telling them that he would be cleaning a family grave and would send the bill have taken legal action against him.

Annabelle Borg and Carmen Borg-Schembri yesterday filed an application for a warrant of prohibitory injunction asking the court to stop Joseph, Emmanuel and Frances Schembri from opening and cleaning a grave at a Siġġiewi cemetery. In the application, they said there was a long-standing family dispute.

They said Joseph Schembri had sent an SMS to Ms Borg-Schembri notifying her that "this week we will clean the grave, and then we will tell you how much to pay, we will throw everything into a charnel house, take this SMS as a notification".

Both women said they were shocked by the "threat", adding that they had tried many times to try and contact him but it was no use.

Ms Borg-Schembri said that she was currently overseas and had tried to contact them to at least wait until she came back from her trip to elevate the remains in the grave so as not to let them be thrown out.

They insisted that the Schembris had no right to open the grave and dispose of the remains without their permission and asked the court by way of the warrant to stop them from doing so.

Lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici signed the warrant.