A prison guard sentenced to pay a €5,000 fine after being found guilty of having made an improper use of the electronic media, had his punishment confirmed on appeal.

Vincent Debono, 46, was convicted by a magistrate's court in May 2016 of having posted an offensive comment on his Facebook page. However, he had not been found guilty of inciting racial hatred.

The accused appealed the decision asking the court of appeal to reduce the €5,000 fine which he deemed to have been 'excessive.'

The court of appeal, presided by Madame Justice Edwina Grima, observed that the accused's role as a warden at the Corradino Correctional Facility brought him into contact on a daily basis with many inmates of all race, creed and colour. These were the very same people targeted in his offensive Facebook post.

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Moreover, owing to modern-day technology, "a comment directed against an individual living miles away is as relevant as that directed against one's neighbour," the court remarked.

Since such comments posted from the comfort of our homes may have far-reaching effects, our legislator has deemed it fit to set the maximum penalty for such improper use of the Internet at €23,293.73.

The accused had argued that the magistrate's court had been given a 'carte blanche' since the law established the maximum but not the minimum punishment.

READ: Outdated law leads to acquittal for racist comment by prison warden

Moreover, the accused had complained about the negative repercussions which his Facebook post had brought about upon himself and his family. He had allegedly suffered a traumatic experience after being subjected to a 'trial by social media', the court was told.

However, the court noted that the accused was not a first time offender. In fact, he had been previously convicted for theft when he worked as a police officer and obviously "did not learn anything from his negative experience."

Bearing in mind the gravity of the offence, the fact that the accused is not a first-time offender and is also a public officer, the court rejected the appeal and confirmed the punishment by the first court.

"The punishment imposed cannot be described as being wrong in principle or manifestly unjust. It is anything but that!" remarked the court, with reference to the €5,000 fine which was rather minimal.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili were defence counsel.