Construct Furniture machine operator will not face charges in homicide case

A police officer has testified that there was insufficient evidence to take criminal action against a Construct Furniture machine operator that the victim had replaced

Matthew Bartolo, from Kirkop, died last year following an accident at Construct Furniture’s factory at Ħal Farruġ, in the limits of Luqa
Matthew Bartolo, from Kirkop, died last year following an accident at Construct Furniture’s factory at Ħal Farruġ, in the limits of Luqa

The compilation of evidence against the owner and administrators of a furniture company accused of negligently causing the death of a teenage employee at their factory continued today with the court being told that the police had insufficient evidence to prosecute the person who the victim was replacing.

John Agius, 53, director of Construct Furniture, his daughter Amanda Cefai, 31, as factory administrator and her husband, James Cefai, 38, a foreman, all three from Luqa, appeared before magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit to face charges over the involuntary homicide of Matthew Bartolo, 17, from Kirkop. The three deny the charges.

Bartolo, an employee, died in an industrial accident whilst operating a machine at Construct Furniture Ltd's factory in 2015.

The incident is already the subject of a claim for damages filed by the boy's parents. In June last year, lawyers representing the factory had also called for an investigation into how documents from the magisterial inquiry into the incident had ended up in the hands of the Times of Malta. The court had refused that request.

This morning, defence lawyer Edward Gatt objected to witnesses being allowed to testify because the defence had still not been given a copy of the report which followed the magisterial inquiry.

Gatt told the magistrate that while a copy had been leaked to the media, the Attorney General was yet to supply the defence with a copy of the inquiry report.

The court ordered the investigating inspector to testify today, for the sake of expediency. The court will hear the civilian witnesses in a later sitting.

Inspector Joseph Mercieca from the Criminal Investigation Department testified how he had spoken to the person who reportedly should have been operating the controls of the machine at the time of the fatality, during the investigation.

The court was told that the account given by the operator to the inquiring magistrate and later to inspector Mercieca, were inconsistent. But under cross-examination, inspector Mercieca explained that he did not have sufficient evidence at hand to take criminal action against the man.

The compilation of evidence continues.

Lawyers Edward Gatt, Pio Valletta, Veronique Dalli and John Refalo appeared for the defendants.

Lawyer Jason Azzopardi appeared parte civile for the victim's family.