A 56-year-old man had a very bad Monday morning this week when he woke up to find his yacht sprayed all over with shocking-pink paint.

The 55-foot Princess, which was berthed at Msida marina, also had its cabin door padlocked and the keyhole stuffed with glue and pieces of wood.

This is the second time Edward Cassar and his four-year-old boat have made it to the newspapers.

Last September, the boat was raided by around 12 soldiers armed with submachine guns following a report that there was an escaped prisoner on board.

The raid took place at 1.30 a.m. while Mr Cassar was sleeping on board with some friends at Mellieħa Bay.

He later protested the raid in court, saying that it caused him undue shock and humiliation and that he had felt so agitated that he was left unconscious.

His wife, Marielle Cassar, from whom he is separated, was later charged in court with making a false report. The case is still being heard.

Mr Cassar estimates the damage to his yacht caused by the spray paint will add up to at least €2,000. He has already started to remove it manually. Electronic equipment was also damaged by the paint.

"In a way I was lucky because I had left the hatch open so I managed to get into the boat even though everything was locked up," he said.

Mr Cassar has filed a police report but CCTV footage in the marina did not identify the vandal.

Mr Cassar suspects that the damage was caused by someone on a dinghy who knew the boat well enough to choose the right size of padlock for the cabin door.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com