A warden who fined a Paola man for dumping his in-laws’ rubbish in a Birkirkara skip has defended her action, saying she was simply enforcing a 2000 bylaw.

In a report she filed with her employer Guard and Warden Service House Ltd, which has opened an internal inquiry, the warden said the rubbish dumper was not a Birkirkara resident and police were called when another man joined him and was hostile to her.

Times of Malta yesterday reported that Paola resident Jean Paul Bellizzi was slapped with a €46 fine for dumping rubbish in a skip in Triq il-Passju on Tuesday.

Seconds later, he was fined a further €23 for disobeying orders after the warden expected Mr Bellizzi to climb into the skip to recover the garbage bag and move it elsewhere. He said the man who joined him to protest the fines was his father-in-law.

“I am aware of the incident and an investigation is still ongoing,” managing director Kenneth De Martino told Times of Malta when contacted.

In her report the warden – who at the time of the incident was dressed in plain clothes ­– said she was enforcing a bylaw that says people cannot deposit waste that originates outside the council’s boundary.

But Birkirkara mayor Joanne Debono Grech has said she did not know of this bylaw and was looking into the matter. She could not be contacted yesterday.

The warden said Mr Bellizzi was “not cooperative” because he argued that her ID card showing she was a warden was not enough proof, as she was not in uniform.

She claimed that in “a loud voice” and “a sarcastic manner”, Mr Bellizzi started advising all passers-by of the situation, warning them not to use the skip.

Later Mr Bellizzi was joined by another person who the warden said claimed “wardens are not important” and “if necessary he will arrange to remove them from Birkirkara”.

He also allegedly stated “if any tickets are issued I’ll shove it down your throat” (intemaħħulek).

It was at this stage that the warden advised the police to take over and two officers went on the scene to handle the situation.

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