A woman’s drunken state lands her €800 fine after breaking Valletta’s Christmas tree bauble

A Bulgarian woman who smashed a glass bauble that had been attached to the Christmas tree outside Parliament, has been fined €800 and ordered to pay for its replacement.

The woman pleaded guilty, apologised and said she was willing to pay for the damage she had caused.

This morning, Magistrate Gabriella Vella heard Inspector Priscilla Caruana Lee explain how 36-year-old Ivelina Petkova had been arrested shortly before 2am in Valletta, after officers on duty outside parliament heard the bauble smash into smithereens.

The bauble is one of over 2,000 glass baubles that craftsmen at Mdina Glass had made by hand.

The woman ran away but was apprehended shortly after.

Petkova, who said she had been drunk at the time, was accused of disturbing the public peace, willful damage to property and threatening or causing bodily harm to two police officers in the course of their duties.

The woman was also charged with being drunk in public, uttering obscene or indecent words in public and with giving false particulars to the police.

Lawyer Noel Bartolo, appointed as legal aid to the accused, highlighted the woman's apology and early guilty plea, stressing that she had been drunk at the time she had committed the offence.

He asked the court to allow some time for the woman to pay for the damages and the fine.

The woman silently dried her eyes as she confirmed her admission of guilt.

The court found Petkova guilty and, after taking into account the early guilty plea and the payment of the damages, placed the woman under a probation order for two years.

In addition to the probation order, the court imposed a fine of €800 which is to be paid within eight working days and ordered the woman to pay €350 for the damaged bauble within two months, warning her that she faced up to 14 months in prison if she failed to pay the amounts due.