The Malta Police Association has deplored the attack on a police inspector on Sunday, reiterating its call for harsher penalties for such crimes.

For years, the association has been requesting stiffer fines for those found guilty of injuring policemen.

It renewed its call yesterday after a police inspector was assaulted and seriously injured at the airport over the weekend as he tried to stop a man from damaging a bus. He suffered a fractured leg.

A 31-year-old man from Somalia, who holds a Norwegian passport, was kicking the front sliding door of the bus in front of the departures hall. The inspector was attacked when he went over to speak to him accompanied by another policeman. The man was arrested.

In a statement the association said violence against members of the force was on the increase. Police work had one of the highest number of occupational incidents but there was no insurance policy that covered it.

We do not feel police should risk their lives every day and not be protected

The association urged the authorities to take immediate action to raise fines to serve as a deterrent and begin the process for police officers to get suitable insurance cover.

“We do not feel that members of the police force, who are workers like all other workers, should have to risk their lives every day and not be protected by the authorities,” it added.