Police probe 35 reports of vandalism at Gudja cemetery

The police are investigating at least 35 reports of vandalism and thefts from the Gudja cemetery last week, involving bronze statues and ornaments as well as pieces of marble.

It is hard to establish exactly when the vandalism happened because the cemetery only opens every Sunday.

Among the graves that were vandalised or had items stolen were those belonging to the families of Police Commissioner John Rizzo, Raymond Caruana, who was shot dead at the Nationalist Party club in Gudja in the 1980s, and that belonging to the family of Gudja mayor Mario Calleja.

Police sources said that last Wednesday the police received an anonymous call saying there were people trying to gain entrance to the cemetery, which is rather cut off from the rest of the village because of ongoing road works in the area.

The police were on site within minutes and noticed a red car but it sped off, leaving a cloud of thick dust behind it.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Calleja said the thieves managed to pull off the bronze picture holders of both his parents but did not steal them. Other graves, he said, had missing crucifixes, bronze candle holders as well as ornaments.

He said the cemetery was surrounded by high metal railings with pointed edges, making it extremely hard to climb over. At the back the boundary wall is more than a storey high.