A family has described how two of its loved ones had their possessions stolen as they lay dead.
The Bugeja family said it had witnessed the "most sickening form" of theft in the span of 10 years.
Martin Bugeja and his wife Simone recounted how an uncle suffered a massive heart attack on the parvis of Żejtun parish church on June 3.
People gathered around him to assist and an ambulance was called but he passed away at hospital. The family later discovered that his wallet was missing from his deep trouser pockets.
"It couldn't have simply fallen out," Mr Bugeja said.
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He said it was not clear where the wallet was stolen, but they suspected it could have been on the parvis.
"A relative who went to Żejtun told us he saw a tissue hanging out of his pocket, so it could have been drawn out when somebody stole the wallet,” Mrs Bugeja said.
Mr Bugeja, who first expressed his anger in a letter to The Sunday Times of Malta, said that when such things happened, relatives went through a doubly painful experience.
It was the second time the family had witnessed such a despicable act.
Ten years ago, Mrs Bugeja's father suffered a heart attack in her car. She stopped to call for help and was soon rushed to hospital in an ambulance but he passed away later.
When the hospital staff handed her his personal belongings, they also handed her his wallet. But it was empty with his cash and credit cards gone.
"It is sickening," Mrs Bugeja said.
I certainly wouldn't like to be in the shoes of these obnoxious persons, slaves to their avarice, who have it within themselves to steal from a dead body
"The bereaved not only have to come to terms with their sudden loss, often under deeply tragic circumstances, but they are also compelled to deal with the anger that such a despicable act stirs up. A crushing blow if ever there was one.
"And I once thought that one really couldn't stoop any lower than to pilfer candles and flowers from graves!"
"If it is written in the Good Book that we all have to answer one day for every idle word that we utter on this earth, then I certainly wouldn't like to be in the shoes of these obnoxious persons, slaves to their avarice, who have it within themselves to steal from a dead body.”
In November 2011, Times of Malta reported another case where a man who died in a horrific motorcycle accident was robbed of €1,000 in cash and €2,500 in bank card transactions hours after he passed away.
As shocked family members came to terms with their sudden loss, theft and fraud were the last things on their minds. But alarm bells were set off when the motorcyclist's brother went to the morgue and realised his brother's wallet, keys and portable GPS device were missing, together with at least €1,000 in cash.
Unaware that her husband’s wallet had been stolen, the motorcylist's wife had phoned her bank to block her husband’s bank cards. Some time later, a bank representative rang her back and informed her that five transactions of €500 each had taken place, several hours after his death.