Updated 2.55pm - Adding that government workers cleaned the memorial but retained the photos in place.
A Valletta makeshift memorial to Daphne Caruana Galizia has come under attack for the second time in as many days.
Vandals threw eggs and tomato sauce at photos of the slain journalist, according to Occupy Justice activists who found the memorial dripping with liquid that looks like blood.
The new Minister for National Heritage José Herrera deplored the act of vandalism.
The memorial was cleaned by government workers in the afternoon. Photos which could be saved were left in place.
Just last Monday, placards describing Ms Caruana Galizia as being possessed by the devil were found next to her memorial at the foot of the Great Siege monument opposite the Law Courts.
"We have been protesting for 28 months, accused of vandalising the memorial with our flowers and candles. People were up in arms because it is the memorial of the Maltese. Now see for yourself what people did to it last night. Who are the vandals now," activists asked on Wednesday morning.
The memorial was created on October 18, 2017, two days after Ms Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb outside her Bidnija home. People had laid flowers, candles and other tributes following a vigil.
Since then, a team of volunteers laid fresh candles and flowers at the site daily.
For months, they were at loggerheads with public maintenance employees who used to clear the vigil during the night. A court was told that it was former Justice Minister Owen Bonnici who had ordered the clearing.
Shortly after becoming prime minister, Robert Abela announced that the memorial would no longer be cleared, but this has not stopped the vandals.
Ms Caruana Galizia's son Matthew, who was the first on the murder site on October 16, reacted:
"This memorial exists as a protest against our mafia state and the mafia culture it created. For as long as those things exist, the memorial will be there in protest.
"If you want it gone, you’re not going to buy us out with another memorial. You’re going go have to prosecute and convict the criminal organisation running our country," he wrote on Facebook.
Together with Repubblika and blogger Manuel Delia, Occupy Justice will be holding another protest questioning the recent 'political changes' and calling for justice on Wednesday at 6pm outside of Parliament.
José Herrera deplores act
Minister Herrera, who is now responsible for national monuments, deplored "such acts of vandalism".
"As a nation we need to be bold and find a suitable yet sensitive outcome," he tweeted, adding that he has called on Heritage Malta to assess the damage and reinstitute the monument.
Serves them right - San Ġwann deputy mayor
"Serves them right (min jikriha joqgħod għaliha)," San Ġwann deputy mayor Anthony Mifsud Bonnici Giordani replied to Occupy Justice's Facebook post about the act of vandalism.
The PL councillor's comeback to social media users who expressed shock at his comment was that Dr Abela had issued orders against the removal of "rubbish" at the foot of the Great Siege monument.
Photo: Facebook