The owners and administrators of a furniture-making firm will face criminal charges in the coming weeks in connection with the death of a teenager two years ago.

This newspaper is informed the police have issued charges against John Agius, director of Construct Furniture, his daughter, Amanda Cefai, who runs the factory, and her husband, James, a foreman.

Among other things, the three are being accused of causing the involuntary homicide of Matthew Bartolo, 17, who died on June 4, 2015, when operating a woodworking machine used to manufacture doors at the company’s factory in Luqa.

According to the charges, the occupational fatality occurred because the proper health and safety procedures were not followed.

The charges issued also refer to the falsification of documents and perjury during the course of a magisterial inquiry conducted by Magistrate Joe Mifsud.

The teenager’s signature on training sheets could have been forged

Apart from finding enough evidence to prompt the police to file criminal charges, the inquiry commented that the teenager’s signature on training sheets presented by the company as evidence could have been forged.

The training sheets were meant to show that the employee had received the necessary training to work on the machine.

The inquiring magistrate appointed a calligraphy expert to conduct a comparative analysis of the handwriting on the documents, which led to his conclusions about the forgery.

According to the time sheet, which was also exhibited as evidence, Mr Bartolo worked from 7am to 3.30pm on the day he lost his life. In fact, the accident occurred at 12.20pm, and he died soon afterwards in hospital, which led to the conclusion that the victim’ signature had been forged.

The inquiry established that the incident occurred when Mr Bartolo was operating the machine in a confined space.

The inquiry found that Mr Bartolo was tasked with completing jobs even when the machine operator assisting him had finished his shift, which contradicts health and safety procedures.

Mr Agius is also expected to be charged with relapsing.

In 2013, Mr Agius was arraigned after Gareth Galdes, a 16-year old working at Construct Furniture, was injured.

ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com