Poor investigation lead to farmer’s acquittal over Dingli wildfire

A man has been acquitted of setting off a wildfire in Dingli after the court could not find proof that his field fire caused the blaze.

Francesco Galea, 74, from Rabat was charged with a total of eight environmental and criminal offences after a fire broke out on 6 October 2023. The charges span from negligently starting a fire and damaging protected trees without a permit, to endangering public safety. The fire destroyed around 300 tumoli of agricultural land, as well as protected trees and wildlife.

Neighbouring field owner, Eric Scicluna, testified in court that he saw Galea burning dry weeds in his own field at around 7:30am. He only discovered a much larger fire, which spread into his field, at around 11:30am.

Chis Galea, another neighbour, also noticed Galea burning weeds in the morning, a common practice, and only noticed the blaze and damage to his property much later on. However, no witness saw Galea extinguish his fire.

In court, Galea admitted to starting the small morning fire but claimed that he consequently put it out. He denied any possible links to the wildfire. The defence argued that the prosecution could not prove beyond any reasonable doubt that it was his small morning fire that caused the massive blaze.

Moreover, the courts had no expert advice on the origins of the fire or its spread and the Environmental and Resources Authority was not involved in the investigation. This was criticised by the magistrate, who said the prosecution had only stated its case on a basis of probability, which is inadequate in criminal law. There was no evidence proving that the wildfire was a result of Galea’s negligence.

The courts acquitted Galea but expressed “serious concern” over the inadequate investigation. The judgment was ordered to be sent to the Minister of Home Affairs, the Civil Protection Department, and the ERA to address issues.

This case was presided over by Magistrate Monica Vella.