A South African sailor has appeared in court today, accused of climbing the Triton Fountain in Valletta, while stark naked.

Cheeky yachtsman Keane Maske from South Africa, 24 was arraigned before magistrate Aaron Bugeja by inspector Daryl Borg, accused of offending public morals, appearing naked in a public place and breaching the peace.

A video of Maske, clambering up the fountain in the buff, went viral in the past hours.

Maske’s lawyer Austin Gauci Maestre entered a guilty plea to the charges. The man repeated the plea when given an opportunity to reconsider.

Gauci Maestre pointed out that the accused had acted on a dare. He explained that the accused had only been in Malta for a few hours and did not know the significance of the monument. He was prepared to stay on the boat until it departed, said the lawyer.

As far as the punishment applicable in this case, the court considered that it ought to be very close to the maximum allowed by law, given that the act committed and admitted by the accused is, in itself, a serious matter and also because it tends to give a wrong impression about what goes on in Malta, said the magistrate. “Such acts, especially when committed on public monuments cannot surely go unnoticed.”

The court sentenced the man to a fine of €1,000 as well as a term of 3 months imprisonment, suspended for 2 years. The court warned the sailor that if he commits any offence punishable by imprisonment during the operative period of his sentence, that sentence would be rendered executable.