A 38-year-old man has been sent to jail for a year and a half after he was caught pretending to be a policeman and charging tourists €50 for not wearing a face-mask.

TVM reported on Sunday that Jon Charles Seabrook, a UK-national who now lives in Senglea pleaded guilty to deceptively profiting from four tourists and trying to charge a fifth one between Thursday and Satruday.

He also pleaded guilty to insulting and threatening two of the tourists.

Seabrook was only recently discharged from prison, and both the prosecution and defence agreed with the sentence handed out by Magistrate Marseann Farrugia on Sunday.

As from 1 July, people can remove their face masks outdoors as long as they have a recognized vaccine certificate and are by themselves or with another person who is in possession of a vaccine certificate.

Those breaching the law can be fined €50, which can increase to €100 if the fine isn’t paid before proceedings end up before a tribunal.