The mayor and executive secretary of Qala local council have been cleared of criminal liability over a grass-cutting incident which left a street cleaner with serious injuries.

Paul Buttigieg and Marcia Borg were criminally charged with having been responsible for the incident through negligence and non-observance of health and safety regulations.

They were further charged with failing to carry out regular checks to avoid danger at the workplace and also to ensure that workers received proper training.

The incident happened in July 2017, when mayor Buttigieg had asked Joseph Buttigieg to accompany him on a grass-cutting task in Triq il-Kuncizzjoni, Qala, as instructed by the CMU Section within the Department of Projects and Development at the Ministry for Gozo.

As the two were at work clearing away weeds and canes, the machine suddenly twisted out of Paul Buttigieg’s grasp, hitting the other man who was sweeping the cut vegetation.

An ambulance was called on site and the victim was swiftly transferred to the Gozo General Hospital for treatment after suffering serious injuries to his hand.

Criminal charges were filed against Paul Buttigieg and the council’s executive secretary, in both their personal capacity as well as their professional capacities of mayor and executive secretary respectively. The court noted that the prosecution had not been sure under which capacity it was to prosecute.

“The prosecution must do its homework well before coming to court and must be certain of what it does,” magistrate Joseph Mifsud remarked.

Although Paul Buttigieg was indeed the mayor of Qala, at the time of the incident he was carrying out work for the CMU section at the Gozo Ministry and not in his role as mayor, the court observed.

The cleaner was employed by the Community Workers Foundation, with premises in Ħamrun, and was not a local council employee, the court went on, pointing out that the only link to the Qala local council was the fact that the grass-cutting tool was said to be council property.

The council had authorised Paul Buttigieg to use the tool when carrying out tasks on behalf of the CMU, the evidence showed.

Although the OHSA, handling the prosecution together with the police, claimed that the victim had been employed by Paul Buttigieg, no evidence was brought to support this claim.

Neither the accused nor the victim had been employed by the local council and the prosecution had failed to prove that the work related to the incident had been ordered by the Qala council, the court declared.

The prosecution had not even proved that Paul Buttigieg and Marcia Borg actually occupied the official roles attributed to them. The chief of staff called to testify about this fact was a mere “person of trust” holding a political position “under temporary emphyteusis,” the court observed, adding that an official from the directorate of local councils ought to have been summoned as witness.

On the basis of all evidence, the court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove its case and thus cleared both accused of all criminal charges in their regard.

Lawyer Joseph Giglio and LP Peter Paul Zammit were defence counsel.

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