Valletta 2018 Foundation chairman Jason Micallef has asked the public to help identify four youths caught on camera huddled around a statue that was vandalised. 

In a Facebook post, Mr Micallef shared footage of the youths standing around the back of a polystyrene statue installed in Triton square visually depicting a Maltese proverb. 

The structure, which is one of 13 installed across Valletta as part of a temporary art installation, was among several vandalised over the weekend. 

The youths - three young men and one woman - can be seen grinning as they surround the rear of the statue. Footage then cuts to clips of damage caused to the statue. 

'Police have copy of video'

Mr Micallef said he had passed a copy of the video to the police, and urged anyone who recognised the young people in the video to contact police or the Valletta 2018 Foundation on 2124 2018. 

I'm asking the public to help us work out who they are and what they were doing. They clearly weren't taking a photo.- Jason Micallef

When contacted by the Times of Malta, Mr Micallef said he was not accusing the young people of being the vandals responsible for the damage. 

"I'm asking the public to help us work out who they are and what they were doing. They clearly weren't taking a photo," he said. 

The structure which features in the video depicts a person bent over with their head caught in an onion - a visual depiction of the Maltese proverb 'Min  jidħol bejn il-basla u qoxritha jibqa' b'riħitha'  which had set some tongues wagging when it was first unveiled last week. 

Earlier on Wednesday, repair crews hauled the various damaged statues away for repairs.