Sicilian fishermen to stay the weekend to pay court fine

Two Sicilian fishermen who admitted fishing in Maltese waters have to stay the weekend as the court registry closed at 12.30pm and they could not pay their fine. The two fishermen, Salvatore Saporito, 29, captain of La Principessa Prima, and  Salvatore Penna, 52, captain of La Madonnina, were arraigned today after they were caught fishing in Maltese waters without the necessary permits yesterday. They were fined €20,000 each. But by the time their case was over, the court registry had closed. The fishermen will stay on their boats under police surveillance until Monday. The €700 worth of prawns and fish they had on their boats were sold by the Department of Fisheries this morning. Lawyer Charmaine Cherrett represented the fishermen.