The police have filed a note of appeal after a magistrate recommended the reinstatement of two Gozo Channel employees even though they had admitted to robbing their employer.

“The police are objecting to the court’s recommendation, which was uncalled for,” a senior police officer said.

“We think the two employees should have been given at least a suspended sentence. Also, it does not make sense they are given back their job when they robbed their own employer.” he insisted.

The Attorney General’s Office is also considering re-opening the case, sources said.

The case goes back to September when Raymond Borg, known as Ix-Xitan, and George Zammit were seen on CCTV selling used ferry tickets and pocketing the money. The two pocketed €355 in a day. They were immediately suspended from their job and taken to court where they admitted theft and committed themselves to refund the money. 

Magistrate Joe Mifsud discharged them on condition they did not break the law again for three years. He also recommended in his judgment that they should be reinstated by Gozo Channel, noting that a person who made a mistake should still have “a window of opportunity”.

Gozo Channel sources told the Times of Malta the controversial sentence sparked a row between the Gozo Ministry and Gozo Channel because Mr Borg was one of Gozo Minister Anton Refalo’s main canvassers.

According to the sources, while the ministry was in favour that both employees would be reinstated, Gozo Channel was adamant that it would not take them back, especially since they themselves had confessed to robbing the company.

When contacted, a spokesman for Dr Refalo categorically denied that the minister was putting any pressure on Gozo Channel to reinstate the two suspended employees.

Gozo Channel chairman Joe Cordina would not comment on the issue, saying only that the company would deal with the two men internally.

Mr Borg, from Kerċem, was in the news in October 2013 when a Gozo Channel vessel was called back to port half way through its journey to pick up Dr Refalo from Ċirkewwa.

Although Dr Refalo at first said he had complained to the duty manager about the vessel leaving waiting passengers – including himself –stranded, he had later admitted he had called Mr Borg, a junior official, who called the ship’s captain to inform him that he had left the minister stranded in Malta.

Court recommendation ‘ridiculous and unprecedented’ – Malta Employers’ Association

The Malta Employers' Association said in a reaction that the court's recommendation for the reinstatement of the workers was  ridiculous and unprecedented.

"This decision can create a very dangerous precedent and sends a wrong message to employees in Malta and Gozo. The gravity of the recommendation by the magistrate is even more pronounced given that the employees are to be reinstated in their previous post, which includes cash handling," the association said.

It added that it supported the police in their efforts to appeal this error of judgement.