Police say organiser of underground rave to be charged
The alleged organiser of an illegal rave held on Friday night will be charged by police and by commercial authorities over the party, a police spokesperson told The Malta Independent on Monday afternoon.
This newsroom reported on Monday morning that the police were looking into two videos which were uploaded by two different users on Instagram in the form of a story – which is a post which disappears after 24 hours.
The videos, which can both be viewed on The Malta Independent’s website ( www.independent.com.mt), show people piled into a dilapidated venue while loud dance music was being played inside.
No modicum of social distancing is evident from the videos and neither is the use of facemasks.
A police spokesperson told The Malta Independent that the police were informed that the party was ongoing in the early hours of Saturday morning, and that the “large number of attendees”
dispersed as soon as they saw the police arriving on site.
The spokesperson also confirmed information reported earlier in the day by this newsroom that the party took place at the White Rocks complex. Pictures taken by this newsroom on site show the room in full daylight, with the graffiti in particular matching what is seen in the video.
A couple of glass bottles – clearly shattered on the floor – can also be seen in the room, while bags of empty cans were stashed away in a corner.
“The alleged organiser was identified onsite and will be charged accordingly for organizing a mass event during the Covid-19 pandemic and also for holding a commercial activity without a license from the regulatory authority”, the police told this newsroom.
The organisation of the rave has drawn anger and condemnation after it was reported.
Malta is currently going through yet another record spike of Covid-19 cases – a record number of 263 cases were reported on Sunday after a number of days where over 200 cases were being registered daily. Aside from the original Covid-19 virus, the UK variant is also present in Malta. This variant is more contagious when compared to the original strain of the virus.
Social distancing laws have been in place for months which limit public gatherings to six people. Mass events have been banned since summer, after cases spiked following a cluster emerging from a weekend-long party in July, as well as from feasts.
While the health authorities continue to roll out their vaccination strategy, they have also pressed upon the importance of continuing to follow rules and guidelines. In fact, a number of other measures were introduced in February due to the Carnival season, as the authorities wanted to avoid another spike in cases, similar to what was seen after the Christmas period.
Bars and clubs have been closed for months, and recently it was announced that they will remain closed for the month of March. This is being done to minimise the spread of Covid-19.