Postman charged with throwing mail items away at Dingli cliffs

A postman has been charged with throwing away mail items that he was meant to deliver.

The man, whose name cannot be published, was charged by writ of summons with illicitly preventing postal items from reaching their intended destination and with delaying the delivery of mail items before magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera this afternoon.

Under Malta's Postal Services Act, anyone who maliciously commits any act which prevents or delays the delivery of a postal article is guilty of an offence and, upon conviction, is liable to a fine of between €1,000 and €25,000 or to imprisonment for a term from one to 12 months, or both.

It is understood that the accused no longer works for MaltaPost.

Defence counsel Yanika Vidal and Franco Debono entered a plea of not guilty and requested the court order a social enquiry report to be drawn up. 

Rabat residents had reacted with outrage in August when photos of letters and parcels scattered on the ground near Dingli Cliffs emerged on social media. Amongst the items found were hospital documents and bank statements.