The police have made a request to the Attorney General to appeal the sentence handed to the three men who admitted to destroying some 104 trees at the Foresta 2000 site at Mellieha Bay, police sources told this newspaper.

It seems that the outcome of the case displeased not only Foresta 2000 ranger Ray Vella, who said in yesterday’s newspaper that “the fine of €1,000, coupled with the damages cost was too little in this case”.

Mr Vella said that according to a 2001 Legal Notice the fine for destroying a tree which was less than 10 years old had to range somewhere between Lm200 (€465.87) and Lm1,000 (€2329.87) for each tree.

The police are also requesting a harsher penalty in this case, as they said the fine the perpetrators received was not enough. However it is now in the hands of the Attorney General, sources said, since it is up to him to decide whether to appeal the judgement.

The three men, Darren Cross, 24 of Birkirkara, Noel Grech, 24 and Charlot Chetcuti, 21, both of Mosta, were fined €1,000 each and handed a 300-hour Community Service Order. They were also ordered to pay €1,320 each to cover the €3,960 in damages.

It appears that the Police immediately gave the indication that they would be appealing, as soon as the judgement was handed down in court.

The men’s actions were condemned by the Federation for Hunting and Conservation and by Kaccaturi San Ubertu, which both released a statement praising the police and the court for their prompt action. The men’s licences were also suspended.