The CEO of a Mellieħa hotel and two contractors who worked on a 2020 renovation have been charged with exposing employees to asbestos, a potentially deadly material long banned across the EU.
Hmadi Abu Rub, 37, who manages the Mellieħa Holiday Centre, was charged on Thursday with failing to take proper precautions and failing to carry out a risk assessment during the removal of asbestos from the site.
Syrian contractors Fahad Abdullah, 44, and Mahmoud Hussin, 34, face a long list of charges related to the work they were carrying out at the resort when it was being renovated last October.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate once regarded as a miracle fibre and used in a wide range of materials installed in homes and offices decades ago. Experts believe that Malta has thousands of cubic metres of it still installed in buildings.
The mineral results in conditions known collectively as ‘asbestosis’, which include lung cancer. Former dockyard workers or their families have been awarded compensation by the government after developing serious health problems from the exposure.
The General Workers’ Union, which fought for compensation on behalf of the dock workers, is a shareholder of the Mellieħa Holiday Centre.
All charges against the CEO and contractors stem from alleged breaches of occupational health and safety laws and have been filed by the police on behalf of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.
The CEO, who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the hotel, was charged with failing to inform employees about the exposure to asbestos and the related risks as well as failing to provide them with proper protection equipment or consulting them on the risks they were being exposed to as well as neglecting to draft a health and safety plan.
The Mellieħa Holiday Centre was renovated in 2020.The contractors were separately charged with failing to avoid danger, failure to inform employees about the exposure, not having a plan for the removal of the carcinogenic material and neglecting to carry out health examinations of their employees before and after the work.
They also stand charged with failing to provide their employees with specialised training for the removal of asbestos.
The three pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Elaine Mercieca.
Yesterday’s sitting was taken up with legal arguments made by lawyer Timothy Bartolo who requested the court’s permission to be admitted to the case as parte civile on behalf of two clients who used to work at the hotel and who had been exposed to the asbestos during the project.
Bartolo said his clients were victims of the crimes allegedly committed by the accused. There could be serious consequences for their health, albeit not immediately, he said, adding that separate proceedings would be taken before other courts.
Defence lawyers Alessandro Lia and Joseph Calleja objected to the request, saying that none of the 22 charges indicated anyone specific who could qualify as injured parties.
They said there could be no direct or indirect interest in the case except that of the authority. There were no injuries so private people could never have an interest in this case.
Magistrate Mercieca put off the case to January for a decree on this request.
Lawyer David Saliba from the OHSA prosecuted.