Factory director fined €7,000 over teen worker’s death in Luqa accident

A court has fined a factory director €7,000 after finding him guilty of breaching workplace safety laws in connection with the 2015 death of 17-year-old Matthew Bartolo at the Construct Furniture factory in Luqa.

In a judgement delivered on 13 October 2025, the magistrate concluded that John Agius, a director at Construct Furniture, was guilty of one charge under occupational health and safety legislation but cleared of involuntary manslaughter and falsification of documents due to insufficient evidence. His co-accused, James Anthony Cefai and Amanda Cefai, were acquitted of all charges.

The accident happened on 4 June 2015, at around 12:20pm, when Matthew Bartolo was fatally injured by a woodworking router machine at the Luqa factory. Bartolo, who was still new to the job, was reportedly operating the machinery when the incident took place.

Prosecutors alleged that the company’s management failed to conduct risk assessments, provide adequate training, or ensure safe working conditions, in breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act and other related regulations.

Specific breaches cited in court included the failure to assess workplace hazards before employment, the absence of medical examinations, and the lack of proper instructions and protective measures against mechanical dangers. The court also heard that the company had failed to maintain proper risk assessment records.

Safety deficiencies and disputed documents

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that certain safety features on the woodworking machine, including its safety doors (“kanċelli”), might not have functioned correctly, allowing the machine to continue operating even when open.

Witnesses, among them police inspectors, factory employees, and occupational safety officers, testified about the factory’s safety procedures and the immediate aftermath of the accident. Expert inspections confirmed that while some mechanisms were working, overall risk management and supervision were inadequate.

The court also examined employment documents and contracts allegedly signed by Bartolo. Some signatures were called into question for authenticity, raising doubts about whether he had been fully and formally employed at the time of the incident.

Negligence, duty of care, and proof beyond doubt

In her judgement, the magistrate reviewed principles of criminal negligence, including the duty of care owed by employers, the standard of the reasonably prudent person (bonus pater familias), and the necessity of establishing causation between negligence and harm.

Ultimately, the court ruled that while serious lapses in workplace safety were evident, the prosecution had failed to meet the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt required for the manslaughter charge.

Agius was convicted only of a single occupational health and safety breach and fined €7,000.

The court expressed concern over the lack of coordination between the police and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) during the investigation, calling it an obstacle to establishing full accountability.

In its closing remarks, the court underscored the critical importance of employer vigilance in ensuring workplace safety. It lamented the tragic loss of a young life and highlighted how such cases expose persistent weaknesses in Malta’s enforcement of occupational safety laws.

Lawyers Kris Busietta, Jason Azzopardi and Veronique Dalli were parte civile.