A camera-shy traffic warden who fined a motorist for having filmed him has drawn ire and ridicule on Facebook.

Video posted to the social media network shows the warden fine a motorist €104 for having dared to film his colleague as he issues a contravention. 

In the video, the traffic warden can be seen telling the motorist that he is "obstructing" the wardens by filming them. He then issues the man with a €104.82 ticket for "obstructing or inconveniencing the public".

"It's an outrageous abuse of power," the motorist fumed. 

It is not illegal to film a public officer, such as a warden, as they go about their duties in a public area. 

The kerfuffle happened on Tuesday afternoon outside a Pembroke school, when another traffic warden fined the motorist for having stopped on a double yellow line. The motorist, who was sitting in his car and felt the contravention was unfair, whipped out his smartphone and began filming. 

"At that point, another warden happened to drive by," he recalled. "He asked his colleague 'is that guy filming you?' and then said 'give him another ticket, and make sure it's a €100 one." 

According to the motorist, the second traffic official then appeared and proceeded to follow through on his threat himself, telling the motorist that he was issuing him a ticket for "obstruction". 

"What obstruction?" the motorist asks. 

"You're distracting us from our duty," the traffic warden shoots back. "You're disregarding a warden's instructions." 

According to the Local Enforcement System website, contraventions can be related to traffic and motor vehicle safety issues, sanitary, hygiene and cleanliness, environmental issues or activities requiring local council permits.

"Obstruction" does not feature among the list.  

The warden in question might also find it hard to justify his actions on data protection grounds. 

Local data protection laws are counterbalanced by the public interest at stake, a legal expert told Times of Malta. 

They used the example of CCTV footage from a person's street-facing camera. 

"If my CCTV images capture an individual damaging my car, then it's fine to share those images on Facebook within limits, with the scope of finding the culprit," they said.

"If the CCTV images capture a public officer, such as a warden, behaving abusively, then the scope grows even wider."

The motorist has said he plans to contest the contraventions.