Castle owner fined for illegal weddings, construction works

The owner of a castle in Rabat was today fined €5,000 for illegally holding weddings at his home, carrying out illegal construction work and adjustments to the property and serving food and alcohol without a licence. Carmelo Mangion, 52, also faced VAT and tax charges. Mr Mangion told the court that he had an agreement with Island Caterers and they were the ones responsible for licencing. He also said that he was in the process of selling the property to Marios Marinof. There was a promise of sale but the actual sale never happened. However, it was Mr Marinof who had carried out the works. Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera ruled that he was the owner of the building so he was responsible for whatever happened there.