The Court of Appeal in Gozo has fined Teddy Grima €46,587.47 (Lm20,000) and handed down a six months jail sentence suspended for one year, for breaching an enforcement notice issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA), the authority said yesterday.

The judgment delivered by Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano confirmed the judgment of the first court, delivered by Magistrate Giovanni Grixti last July.

The Court of Appeal’s reaffirmation of the Court of Magistrates judgment related to the highest fine ever imposed by the courts in relation to breaches of the Development Planning Act.

The case relates to the extension of a soft stone quarry in the area known as Ta’ Xrajjah in San Lawrenz without the necessary MEPA permits.

Subsequent to the illegal development, the authority issued enforcement notice ECF 00019/04 requesting the quarry owner to stop illegal development and return the site to its original state.

The accused tried to obtain a sanction for the works on two occasions but the authority refused to grant a permit.

Subsequent to the issuance of the enforcement notice the quarry owner continued to operate the quarry illegally, so criminal proceedings were initiated by the authority against the owner, for breaching the enforcement notice, on which the Court of Magistrates had found him guilty.