Updated:
The Baby Jesus in the Regional Road crib has been stolen, again.
Its absence was noticed yesterday by maintenance staff of Environment Landscapes Consortium (ELC) who decorate and tend the roundabouts all over Malta and Gozo.
A replacement was placed in the crib in the morning.
A baby Jesus and Our Lady were stolen from the same crib last year, and the Baby Jesus was eventually handed to a priest in Gozo.
Another baby Jesus was also stolen from the same place in 2008.
Last year, a baby Jesus was also stolen from a crib made of recyclable material in Marsascala, and it was then replaced by another figure of Jesus made by unknown people.
Some organisers of open air cribs have now made it a practice to remove baby Jesus for the night.
A few weeks ago a lighting fixture erected by ELC at a roundabout in Zurrieq was also stolen, but it was recovered after a sharp-eyed employee spotted it hanging from a balcony.