Recently, a person undergoing procedures in court for domestic violence and the possession of an unlicensed gun, which, incidentally, was used in the domestic violence case, was fined a miserable €700 (payable in €100 monthly instalments) after the victim withdrew her complaint.

I will not comment about the police not taking further action after the withdrawal of the complaint, which, in itself, is a travesty of justice. But, the sentence concerning the gun is also very worrying to all law-abiding citizens.

Most probably, this is the maximum sentence allowed by law. However, does this make any sense? In other civilised countries, possession of an illegal firearm, let alone firing it and placing other people’s lives in jeopardy, would certainly have attracted an effective jail sentence. It seems, this does not apply to Malta.