Two people were arraigned in court today accused of breaching intellectual property rights and illegally selling stolen Playmobil figures.

The case followed police investigations into reports made by the company about the theft of figures and parts of figures, as well as other reports of the sale of Playmobil figures on e-bay and in a Bugibba shop. Among the dolls being sold on ebay were modified Playmobil figures of knights holding decapitated bleeding heads and arrows lodged in the heads.

In separate cases, Francis Difesa, 51 of St Paul's Bay and Nadine Cutajar, 26 of Ghaxaq, pleaded not guilty to circulating stolen Playmobil figures and breaching intellectual property rights.

Ms Cutajar was accused of selling Playmobile figures on ebay, although the prosecution said this did not include the macabre figures, about which another person is due to be arraigned shortly.

Mr Difesa was charged with supplying the Bugibba shop with Playmobil figures. The owner of the shop is also to be charged in the coming days.

Playmobil representative Anna Agius told the court that this case was worrying as these figures had not been assembled to Playmobil standards and had not passed safety standards. This case, she warned could jeopardise the jobs of 800 workers since all Playmobil figures were made in Malta and had to acheive high standards.

She said that at the Bugibba shop, the Playmobil figures were being sold in bags at ridiculously cheap prices which undermined legitimate retailers.

Some of the figures on ebay, she said, had not even yet been put on the market by Playmobil.