Young boys confess to vandalizing over 100 graves in Saaremaa
Two young boys aged eight and 10 are responsible for vandalizing more than 100 graves at a cemetery on the island of Saaremaa over the weekend, newspaper Saarte Hääl reported.
One of the boy's parents shared a handwritten letter in the Kihelkonna community Facebook group in which the child apologizes for damaging the cemetery.
"I'm sorry for damaging the cemetery. And I regret it and I promise that I will never do it again," Saarte Hääl quoted the boy's letter as saying.
The children's parents and grandparents also addressed the community in the same group.
"As parents and grandparents, we are deeply sorry that our child has caused irreparable damage and heartache to the Kihelkonna community through his actions," they wrote.
The Prosecutor's Office, which is conducting a criminal investigation, confirmed to ERR that two boys under the age of 14 have been questioned in connection with the Kihelkonna Cemetery incident and that prosecutors believe they are involved in the incident.
Rein Rand, head of the investigation group at Kuressaare Police Station, told ERR on Friday afternoon that criminal proceedings had been launched under the section of the Penal Code concerning desecration of the memory of the deceased.
Margus Saar, who has worked as a cemetery caretaker for 21 years, told "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Tuesday that this was the first time vandalism of this scale has occurred.
"Police have now established that 105 graves were affected. Gravestones have been broken – pushed over and then shattered. Expensive grave lanterns made of granite have had their glass smashed, and flowers have been damaged. I'm inclined to think that Sunday was the day it happened, and that it was young people. There are footprints suggesting that," Saar said.
Minna Raun, head of the district policing group at Kuressaare Police Station, said vandalism on this scale had not occurred before.
"The prescribed punishment for this is a fine or imprisonment. If minors are involved, the type of punishment remains exactly the same. Vandalism on this scale is indeed taking place for the first time," said Minna Raun, head of the district policing group at Kuressaare Police Station.
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Editor: Helen Wright, Johanna Alvin
Source: Saarte Hääl
