A 51-year-old Estonian man has admitted appearing naked in a public fountain in Żebbuġ after allegedly taking up a €200 bet with friends.
Rainer Korgesaar, who has no fixed address in Malta, pleaded guilty to two charges arising from the incident in Pjazza San Filep at around 11:15pm on 30 September.
He was sentenced to one month in prison, suspended for a year, and a €1,000 fine.
According to the charge sheet, Korgesaar was accused of offending public decency or morals by appearing naked inside the fountain and emerging from it without clothes.
He was separately charged with failing to be properly dressed in a public place after being naked in the fountain and while coming out of it.
The prosecution told the court that police had been alerted to reports of a naked man inside the fountain.
When officers approached him, Korgesaar allegedly explained that he had consumed a bottle of whisky and had gone into the fountain as part of a €200 wager with friends.
He admitted the charges before Magistrate Nadia Helena Vella.
The prosecution was led by Inspector John Sammut, while lawyer Silvan Pulis appeared for the accused.
Home affairs minister: 'We are not a country to be mocked'
Home affairs minister Glenn Bedingfield has asked immigration authorities to consider deporting an Estonian man after footage showed him naked in a village square fountain in Zebbug.
"We are not a country to be mocked," Bedingfield said.
Bedingfield said in a Facebook post on Saturday that he had asked the Principal Immigration Officer to consider deporting the man after the incident.
The footage circulated on social media and showed a man climbing naked out of the fountain as people nearby filmed him. He then collected his clothes from the ground and left.
Police said they were informed of the incident around 11pm and were reviewing CCTV footage to identify and locate the man.
The video prompted a public reaction online, with Bedingfield subsequently asking immigration authorities to examine whether the man should be removed from Malta.
However, it remained unclear whether authorities had taken any decision on his deportation.