Nearly 500 on-the-spot fines have been issued to tourists in the first four weeks since the penalties were introduced through a legal notice signed last month, The Malta Independent on Sunday has been told.
This newsroom has been informed by the Ministry for Home Affairs and Security that in the first 28 days since the signing of the legal notice that introduced on-the-spot fines for non-habitual residents, 95% of all these fines issued have been paid.
Asked how the administration of these on-the-spot fines have been progressing early on, the Ministry replied that the highest number of offences were issued in Sliema, St Julian's, and Swieqi, followed by Valletta.
The most common offence resulting in an on-the-spot fine was public indecency, followed by disturbing the public peace and public order, the Ministry said.
This averages out to 125 such fines distributed every week, or around 18 on-the-spot fines every day.
Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield signed the legal notice to introduce these penalties for law-infringing tourists last month, on 8 July.
When first introduced, the minimum on-the-spot fine was established at €25, however this was recently raised to €50, earlier this week. The Ministry has clarified that this upgraded minimum fine stands at €50 per contravention committed.
The Home Affairs Ministry told this newsroom that "following the introduction of the on-the-spot fines, the government reviewed the applicable penalties and found that some fines were disproportionately low".
It shared that 38 spotted offences carried fines of as little as €6.99 according to existing legislation, 43 contraventions carried a fine of €11.65, while another 150+ contraventions carried a fine of €23.29. "We deemed this as too low," the Ministry said.
This newsroom understands that whereas the minimum fine previously stood at €25, unless "the minimum punishment established by the law for the offence" is higher, this has now increased from a minimum fine of €25 overall (including for cases where numerous offences were observed at once) to a minimum fine of €50 per contravention committed.
This means that a tourist found to be committing two petty crimes, such as public indecency and disturbing the public order, as of this week, would not be implored to pay an on-the-spot fine of €50, but of €100.
On-the-spot fines may only be issued to individuals who are not habitual residents of the Maltese islands, that is, someone who is not a Maltese national and does not hold either a valid local residence document or a long-term residence permit. Essentially, this measure acts as a new means to enforce the law onto tourists who are not abiding by local laws during their stay in the country.
If any tourist is caught breaking the law through a petty crime, these authorised officers have the power to approach them, inform them of the contravention and require them to pay, on the spot, a fine corresponding to the offence committed. All payments must be done immediately, via an electronic payment; cash is not an acceptable method of payment for these fines.
Any persons who fail or refuse to pay the fine on the spot may have their travel documents seized by the police. In such cases, the travel documents may be retained until the on-the-spot fine has been paid in full, after which they will be returned "without undue delay".
Among the questions submitted by this newsroom to the Ministry was how much money had been collected in total through these on-the-spot fines since they were first introduced. The Ministry did not provide a response to this question.
A spokesperson from the Ministry for Home Affairs and Security told this newsroom that "the overwhelming majority of tourists who visit Malta are respectful visitors who come to enjoy everything our country has to offer responsibly. However, we will not tolerate behaviour that disrespects our laws, our communities or our residents".
Introduced at the height of the summer season, these on-the-spot fines came into effect as tourism numbers are reaching their annual peak.