Maltese Grandfather Advised To Lawyer Up After Noise Complaint Filed For Playing Radio In Afternoon
Maltese people might be notoriously loud, but we’re also infamous complainers. But nowhere does this shine brighter than this random post we stumbled upon the internet this week.
A post on popular forum site Reddit’s Maltese sub-category has picked up traction after a local told the story of how his grandfather was asked to seek legal advice after an official complaint of disturbance through noise pollution was filed against him for playing his radio too loud at one o’clock in the afternoon.
In the post, which was written in both English and Maltese, Reddit user Psychelad explains how “a couple of days ago, a policeman showed up on my doorstep, asking for my grandfather, regarding a noise complaint”.
He goes on to detail that the complaint was “done by the neighbours who live under us. It was mainly because of the radio being too loud, and so our neighbours phoned the police”.
A few days later, the police then called his grandfather into the station to discuss the complaint further and ended up serving the old man with papers, but before he was allowed to view the documents was asked to decide if he wanted to seek legal advice with the help of a lawyer or not.
If he was to refuse the help, he had to sign his expressing so, which left the grandfather with a conundrum: rightly so, he told the police he wasn’t going to sign something he didn’t know anything about and, even if he did get a lawyer to assist, what would they be able to say?
Currently, the laws surrounding noise pollution in residential areas and in domestic disputes aren’t very clear, but it is common knowledge among the island that curfews are in place in areas for noise levels.
A common practice among landlords, as well, is to include a clause in rental contracts stipulating that noise is to be kept to a minimum between 8am and 11pm, which borrows the regulation of the playing of amplified music in commercial properties (stating only that those not licensed to play amplified music must stop all noise at 11pm, and those who are licensed are only to do so in line with the issuing terms of the licence).
The sergeant went on to explain to the man once more that he was to make a decision within a set amount of time, but with no ultimatum given the comments were open to a number of reactions.
Like this guy, who has fallen victim to the same situation twice before.
Or this, presumed expat, veteran level.
Or this poor soul, who fears their own utensil drawer.
Then there’s this Chalie that knows way too much to call it a conspiracy.
Looks like Jan’s back for another sure.
While we don’t condone violence against cats, we do condone this fantastic response to the time of day at which the complaint was made.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…
Because mela really is vital.
So, a couple of days ago we got an update on the grandfather’s situation…
Let’s just say we didn’t think this would be the outcome for something as petty as an old man listening to RTK presenters drone on about their “huge vote of confidence” from 2018 still in current day 2019.
The distraught nannu is now having trouble sleeping as his case now faces a court summoning rather than a tribunal review and, in a bizarre twist of fate that nails #OnlyInMalta to a tee, it turns out that after seeking legal advice from a lawyer the man behind the bar wound up being the same lawyer that had served the initial kwerela in the first place. Ajma hi.