A Maltese man has gone on the run after accidentally revealing how much he earns.
The man, 29-year-old graphic designer Robert Bugeja, blurted out his salary during a gathering with friends last Saturday night.
In Malta, revealing your salary is a criminal offence that carries a minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment – 30 if you reveal it to a work colleague.
“We were having drinks at a bar in Valletta. At one point the discussion turned to property. Rob mentioned he was looking for a place, and our other friend Mark suggested a newly refurbished flat in Lija that his uncle was selling. When he told him the price, Rob replied, ‘As if I can afford that when I’m on [CENSORED] a year’,” said friend Julia Dimech.
“We all sat there shocked. Sure Rob was drunk, but that’s no excuse. Someone else at the bar must have overheard him, because five minutes later the police showed up. Luckily for Rob, one of the barmen had taken his face mask off, so the cops were distracted long enough for him to bolt out the door and escape down the street.”
Bugeja has not been seen or heard from since. Police have appealed to the public for information, although they fear he may have already fled the country.
“If you see the suspect, do not approach him. He is a dangerous man who may tell you how much he earns and cause you to demand a higher salary from your own boss,” the police force’s media coordinator Brandon Pisani said.
This is not the first time a salary-revealer has tried to evade justice. In 2016, 33-year-old Kenneth Caruana was found living in a cave in Argentina’s remote Tierra Del Fuego region after disclosing his salary to colleagues three years earlier.
Karl Stennienibarra earns…
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