A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to a year and a half in jail after pleading guilty to pretending to be a policeman, charging maskless tourists €50 and threatening to arrest those who refused to comply. 

TVM reported that Jon Charles Seabrook, who was born in the UK and who lives in Senglea, was hauled to court today and pleaded guilty to deceptively profiting from four tourists and trying to charge a fifth one between Thursday and Saturday.  

The man, who was only discharged from prison recently, also pleaded guilty to insulting and threatening two of the tourists.

Both the prosecution and the defence agreed with the sentence handed out by magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia. 

On 1st July, Malta lifted its blanket obligation for everyone to wear a mask in public at all times. As it stands, people can remove their masks so long as they’re vaccinated and by themselves or with just one other person.  

Authorities can dish out €50 fines to people in breach of the law, which can be increased to €100 if the fine isn’t paid before proceedings end up before the Commissioner for Justice.

Cover photo: Malta Police Force

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