The Association for Abandoned Animals has dissociated itself from its founder, Freddie Fenech, who is pleading not guilty to misappropriating cash running into several thousand euros.

The court heard earlier this month that Mr Fenech used to keep a badly injured dog in his van for months to elicit sympathy and donations and would then make off with the money.

Volunteers who had worked closely with the 72-year-old spoke of his greed for money. In 2009, Mr Fenech was ousted from his position as president during an extraordinary general meeting and the current president, Evelyn Vella Brincat, insisted in a statement yesterday that Mr Fenech had not been associated “in any way what­soever” with AAA for years.

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