The monument to Dun Amadeo Ebejer in Msida went missing in the early hours of yesterday. Photo: Chris Sant FournierA man who was caught red-handed stealing a bronze monument in Msida has told the police that his act was one of desperation, saying he had no financial means to look after himself, Times of Malta has learnt.
The incident happened in the early hours of Friday at around 1am when officers on patrol spotted two men putting a bronze bust in a bag near the Workers’ Monument in Msida.
In a statement the police said that when the suspects noticed the officers approaching, they fled. However, one of them, a 24-year-old man from Żabbar, was arrested a short time later.
It transpired that the missing monument, which was found in possession of the suspect, was of Dun Amadeo Ebejer, a former Msida vice parish priest.
Police sources told Times of Malta that the man, an unemployed father of two who until some time ago worked as a mechanic, had no criminal record. They added that during interrogation the man burst into tears, saying he had resorted to theft after ending up homeless.
“He claimed that after having spent the last few nights sleeping in a car, he decided to try and make some money through melted bronze,” the sources said.
While the veracity of the man’s claims had not yet been established by the time of writing, sources said that his clean criminal record as well as the amateurish execution of the attempted theft tallied.
“No thief would try and steal a heavy bronze monument, which he can hardly carry, from a spot directly opposite the Msida police station,” they said.