The police have refused to say whether an officer found to be renting out a cockroach-infested Sliema apartment to 16 tenants has been suspended or is being investigated.
However, the Housing Authority has confirmed that the property had been flagged for further scrutiny last month and said that an investigation has been ongoing since then.
On Tuesday, Times of Malta revealed that constable Gosef Tanti was renting out the Norfolk Street house to almost three times the number of tenants permitted by planning regulations.
The story also showed the conditions inside the property with video footage captured by a former tenant showing swarms of cockroaches in kitchen cupboards and at least 11 beds spread across two upstairs rooms of the house.
When confronted last week, Tanti admitted to being a policeman and said other members of the police had visited the property earlier this month to check the documentation of the tenants but left without taking any further action.
When asked about this incident and whether Tanti had been suspended in light of the revelations, the police refused to provide any specific information.
In response to multiple questions, a spokesperson for the police only said the force “investigates all reports into breaches of professional standards and/or criminal offences allegedly committed by its members.”
No further information was provided.
Questions about a possible suspension or investigation, as well as the police’s alleged visit to the property earlier this month were all met with the same generic response.
Times of Malta also asked about claims made by lawyer Jason Azzopardi, who said on Facebook on Monday night that a member of the public had reported a Facebook advert posted by Tanti allegedly offering Housing Authority contracts for sale.
Separate questions about a police raid on the property later on Tuesday were also not addressed.
On Tuesday night, a spokesperson for the Housing Authority said Tanti's case had been 'flagged internally" in July and, after initial investigations found it merited further scrutiny, was reported to the police "within a few hours."
However, the spokesperson said that in order to protect the investigation, "no specific details regarding this case can be further disclosed at this time."
He said the authority "actively monitors" the rent register and "pro-actively analyses any reports which could be linked to potential overcrowding and misconduct."
The spokesperson added that changes to the Private Residential Lease Act would come into effect from September.