Institutional, systematic and legislative failures linked to the death of Jean Paul Sofia should be investigated through other inquiries that probe administrative or legal shortcomings, according to Magistrate Marse Ann Farrugia.

The magistrate's statements come as a Times of Malta survey reveals that three-quarters of the Maltese public support a public inquiry into the incident that led to Sofia's death.

Writing in the recently-published magisterial inquiry, Farrugia said that the evidence preserved through her inquiry suggests several failures of this kind. 

In what appears to be a barbed reference to the recent public debate over whether a public inquiry into the incident should be held, Farrugia writes that her magisterial inquiry "did not - and legally could not - have the direct scope to examine whether administrative and/or legislative failures were also in play".

Farrugia goes on to say that "these failures can be the focus of other investigations by competent authorities according to law".

A Times of Malta fact-check published earlier in the year reached a similar conclusion.

An excerpt from Marse Ann Farrugia's' magisterial inquiry.

Three-quarters of the public backed public inquiry

Meanwhile, a Times of Malta poll found that just over 74% of the public either agree or strongly agree with the inquiry, with the vast majority of them – just under 70% - saying they “strongly agree”.

In total, only 8% said they were contrary to the inquiry being held.

Respondents were surveyed between July 14 and 19. The Labour Party voted against holding an inquiry on July 13, but the Prime Minister changed tack and ordered one on July 17. 

The survey findings suggest that Prime Minister Robert Abela and fellow government MPs spectacularly misjudged the public’s mood when initially opposing the inquiry.

A petition calling for the inquiry launched earlier in the month quickly exceeded its goal of 15,000 signatures, eventually being signed by over 30,000 people.

Meanwhile, a vigil held in memory of Sofia last week saw a large turnout, with people of all ages and from all walks of life paying tribute to the youth killed in a building collapse last December.

Support across all parties

The inquiry has bipartisan support, with voters from all parties alike saying that they are in favour of the inquiry being held.

While PN voters almost unanimously say they strongly agree with the inquiry, with over 96% holding this view, the majority of Labour voters also believe that an inquiry should be held.

In fact, just over 51% of people who voted for PL in last year’s election say they strongly agree with the inquiry, while a further 2.6% simply say that they agree.

Meanwhile, only around 17% say that they are against the inquiry.

Likewise, 83% of people who did not vote in last year’s election say they are in favour of the inquiry, with only a negligible number saying they oppose it.

The only group which was ambivalent about the inquiry are people who say they would vote for Labour if an election were to be held tomorrow, with only just under 36% saying they are in favour of the inquiry.

However, this still exceeded the 28% who oppose it.

Youths more ardent in their support

Younger people tend to feel particularly strongly about the issue, with almost 80% of all people under the age of 35 strongly agreeing that the inquiry should be held and under 5% believing that it should not.

Nonetheless, support for the inquiry is overwhelming across all age groups.

Support for the inquiry was lowest in the PL stronghold of the southern harbour district, which includes the Cottonera as well as Marsa, Valletta and Floriana. Nonetheless, almost two-thirds of residents in this district favour the inquiry.