The Police Commissioner and chairperson of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority have been taken to task by a couple whose teenage son was killed while he was operating a machine at a wood manufacturing factory.

Leonard and Claudette Bartolo, whose son Matthew was fatally injured when he was trapped in a woodworking machine at the Construct Furniture premises, have filed a judicial protest lamenting the “disorganisation and serious lack of communication” between the police and health and safety authorities.

Following a magisterial inquiry into the death of the 17-year old on June 4, 2015, criminal charges for involuntary homicide were instituted against John Agius, 53, director of Construct Furniture, his daughter Amanda Cefai, 31, as factory administrator and her husband, James Cefai, 38, a foreman.

Yet, while proceedings are still ongoing before magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, the victim’s parents are protesting the fact that no health and safety official had so far made an appearance in the suit, in spite of this case clearly related to a workplace injury.

“At no stage of the proceedings” did the chief executive officer within the Occupational Health and Safety Authority or any representative of his, turn up “to examine or cross-examine witnesses, produce evidence, make submissions in line with the charges and handle the prosecution on behalf of the police” according to law.

This “blatant irregularity” was proving prejudicial to the ongoing compilation and was detrimental to the judicial interests of the protesting parties, namely the bereaved parents and their two other children also mentioned in the judicial act.

For this reason, the couple called upon the Police Commissioner and the chairperson of the OHSA to regularise their position, failing which they were to be held responsible for all damages, actual and future, suffered by the protesting parties in the course of the ongoing criminal proceedings.

Matthew Bartolo, from Kirkop, had allegedly died when he got stuck in a confined space while the door-manufacturing machine was being operated.

Evidence appeared to indicate that the teenager had been tasked with completing jobs even when the machine operator assisting had finished his shift, clearly in breach of health and safety procedures.

Furthermore, although the company time sheet appeared to show that on the day of the accident the employee had worked from 7am to 3.30pm, the young man had died in hospital shortly after 12.20pm, which seemed to imply that his signature had been forged after his death.

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta signed the judicial protest.

Last week, Mr Agius was fined €4,000 over the injury of a 16-year old worker
after he was held criminally responsible for the accident.