[WATCH] Glen Farrugia charged with causing grievous bodily harm to 'dumped' migrant worker
Building contractor Glen Farrugia is denied bail • He is charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a migrant worker employed illegally by his company and of breaches in employment and health and safety laws


A building contractor has been denied bail after being charged with causing grievous injury to an employee who suffered spinal injuries in a fall.
Glen Farrugia, 31, one of two shareholders and a director of the company J&G Farrugia Contractors, was remanded in custody on charges related to an incident involving a migrant construction worker who was left injured side of the road in Mellieħa after a workplace accident..
Farrugia from Żebbuġ was charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Lamin Jaiteh from Gambia, as well as several other charges relating to breaches of occupational health and safety and labour market laws, including failing to pay Jaiteh correctly for working on a public holiday, failing to pay for unutilised vacation leave, Saturday pay and overtime as well as the statutory bonus, tax and national insurance.

He was also accused of tampering with a crime scene.
The incident sparked public outrage on Tuesday after a video posted to Facebook showed the worker, Jaiteh Lamin, 32, left on the pavement after having allegedly fallen a height of two-storeys on a construction site. Lamin was working without a permit for the construction company and his boss is alleged to have told him to say that he was hit by a car.
The incident was brought to light by a passer-by, who spotted the injured man and uploaded a video to Facebook in which the injured man can be heard sobbing and pleading that he doesn’t want to go to prison.
The video led to widespread condemnation across the board, with several employer organisations, Prime Minister Robert Abela, Opposition leader Bernard Grech and President George Vella calling for justice.
Farrugia pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyers, Franco Debono and Matthew Xuereb requested bail but this was denied by the court.
The prosecution was led by Superintendent Priscilla Caruana Lee and Inspector George Frendo, while lawyers Franco Debono and Matthew Xuereb appeared for the accused. The case was heard by Magistrate Nadine Lia.