Updated Monday 

The Marsaxlokk mayor has defended the installation of cameras pointing at the urinals at a public convenience in his locality, after a storm of criticism when he uploaded a video yesterday showing a man had vandalising the place to steal two toilet paper rolls. 

Police have said that they have identified the man, who was caught on camera breaking toilet roll holders on September 10. He turned himself in at a police station and is to be taken to court.

In a Facebook post today, mayor Horace Gauci said cameras pointed at urinals only filmed men from the back.

"If somebody is so happy with his private parts to the extent that he wants to display them, he can do so in the street and then he would be fined, as should be the case," he said.

He said signs at the latrine entrance warn of 24/7 CCTV surveillance.

Reacting to some comments on his own Facebook wall, Mr Gauci said he did not have any "fetish" and did not see these recordings. Rather, it was this vandal who had this fetish, as he had also gone into the women's toilets and stolen items from there as well.   

Mr Gauci said only the council has access to these recordings and this was the first time that any recording was actually recovered. The recordings are stored for seven days and then erased. 

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