The lawyer of a restaurant-owning family who are caught up in a controversy after a kitten was killed in front of their customers has said that those people that are harassing the family should face harassment charges in court.

Dr Arthur Azzopardi said that up to 30 people could face court action for threatening the owners of Apple’s Eye restaurant in Mellieħa. Dr Azzopardi, who filed a police report last week after the incident occurred, said that allegations on social media led to outrage and the continued harassment of the family.

“There might be more people that should be arraigned because comments on social media are being posted all the time,” Dr Azzopardi was reported as saying. “The impact on the family’s well-being and their business still remains to be seen.”

People who claimed to have been in the restaurant on the fateful night said that an elderly man had complained about the hungry kitten, before taking it to a dark area and killing it.

Customers alleged the elderly man was the owner’s father. The family deny this, saying the elderly man who committed the killing was a passerby, and the Dr Azzopardi said the father was not being considered a suspect in the kitten-killing by the police.

The threats have not stopped since last week

Stephanie Cassar, the owner of the Apple’s Eye, told Lovin Malta that since last week, the threats have not stopped, and described their ongoing situation as “horrible”.

“The threats have continued until even yesterday, and to be honest I don’t even read them anymore, I can’t get myself to read them,” she said.

Among the harassing messages were death threats aimed at Stephanie’s 72-year-old mother. Dr Azzopardi said the family have been in shock for the last week due to the sheer amount of backlash and hateful comments they’ve received.

The original accusation that was posted in RUBS Puppy Love

A post from a member of the family on the day

What do you think of this development?

READ NEXT: ‘Is Anyone Using Their Heads?’: Mellieħa Restaurant Owner Whose Father Was Accused Of Killing Kitten Vehemently Denies Story

Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]