Two men were given seven years in jail between them after they were found guilty of stealing the bust from a monument erected in memory of a police constable shot dead in 1999, among other offences.

Grezzju Calleja, 48, from Tarxien and Anthony Cutajar, 46, from Ħamrun, admitted to stealing the bust, which had been set up in memory of PC Mark Farrugia, the 24-year-old who was shot in the back at close range early in the morning of March 20, 1999 on the doorstep of his family home in Tarxien.

READ: Tribute to a slain policeman

Seven years after his death, PC Mark Farrugia was branded a "hero" during the unveiling of the monument.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, found the men guilty and condemned Mr Calleja to a jail term of four years together with an additional six months for having violated the conditions of an earlier sentence. Mr Cutajar was sentenced to three years in jail.

Inspectors Chantelle Casha and Spiridione Zammit prosecuted.

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