Interior Ministry ready to compensate Chisinau City Hall for arrested Christmas tree

The Ministry of Interior Affairs is ready to refund the Chisinau City Hall the money paid for the Christmas three, which was arrested by the police ahead of the Christmas holidays and then donated to a boarding school without the buyer's assent. Deputy Interior Minister Valentin Zubic told a news conference on Thursday that Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca is justified to seek redress from the Ministry if he thinks his rights were violated, including property rights. “The Ministry is ready to pay the price of the tree”, said Zubic. According to him, the tree was given to the children at a boarding school in Straseni because it was ownerless. Zubic added that the mayor “didn't submit any complaint to report the tree stolen”. At the same conference, Moldovan Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea said the mayor didn't complain to the prosecutors either. He went on to add that “the actions by the police in this case cannot be interpreted as theft”. The tree in question was bought for 5,500 lei from a suburban household with money from the city coffers. On December 16, while the tree was being hauled to the city, the police arrested it, arguing that the tree was traveling unaccompanied by any papers. Several days later the police donated the tree to a boarding school in Straseni. Mayor Chirtoaca described the move as theft and promised to take legal action.