A tree planted in memory of murder victim Pelin Kaya has been uprooted in an apparently random act of vandalism. 

The oak tree was planted in Ta' Xbiex public gardens two weeks ago as a mark of respect for the Turkish woman.

However, Friends of Villa Frere, an NGO that focuses on saving the historic estate in Pietà, revealed on Tuesday that it had been ripped out of the ground. 

“I guess we were too hopeful... a few weeks isn't so bad by Malta's standards maybe...” the group wrote on Facebook. 

“We planted it as a kind gesture and respect to her since she passed away so tragically,” a spokesperson for the NGO said.

Although the oak tree was in her name, there were no plaques signifying the site, suggesting that it may have been a random act of vandalism. 

The plant will soon be re-planted in Villa Frere’s own grounds “under our care and vigil,” they said.

When the organisation originally planted the tree, they chose an oak because it is the national tree of Turkey and said they hoped it would flourish through the years.

Pelin, an interior designer, was walking in front of Paul & Rocco petrol station in Gżira at 1am on January 18 when she was struck and killed by a black BMW, driven by Jeremie Camilleri.

He has since been charged with the murder of the woman, who died an hour into her 30th birthday. Friends said that she had been walking home from a little birthday celebration at the time.

This is not the first murder-victim vandalism of the month as Paulina Dembska’s temporary memorial was scratched on February 1.

Paulina Dembska, 29, was killed in Independence Gardens, Sliema, on January 2 last year. Abner Aquilina, 21, is pleading not guilty to the crime.