The Democratic Party has raised questions over the way the authorities accepted the resignation of police officers currently under investigation in the overtime fraud scandal. It also insisted that the resignations should be rescinded. 

The party described the acceptance of the resignations as 'highly suspicious' and 'unlawful' and said this pointed to more sinister motives.

So far, 25 officers have been suspended and a further seven resigned, including the superintendent responsible for the traffic unit and some of its most decorated officers.

While 31 officers are on police bail, no one has yet been charged. 

The investigation was triggered by a letter from the whistleblower to former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar in December last year claiming an overtime racket among traffic police. 

"These resignations must be rescinded immediately and the persons who accepted and facilitated them should be required to clarify the matter and if not, to resign without delay," the PD said. 
 
The acceptance of the resignations was either sheer incompetence at the top of the police and ministerial hierarchy, or worse, a complicit act to appease those ex-police officers under investigation by allowing them to retain their state pensions, the party said. 

"The Labour government, now under a new prime minister, is not only failing the country by not taking the many opportunities to fix and to be seen to fix the broken system, but is actively breaking the system further," the PD charged.
 
"Two wrongs do not make a right, and neither do two crimes!"