Man fined €2,500 for employing 14-year-old son at Għadira kiosk
Court asks: 'Have people started selling their souls so readily?'
A man has been fined €2,500 for making his 14-year-old son work at a beach stall, with the court ordering the duo be investigated for perjury.
The court also called for JobsPlus inspectors to be equipped with bodycams to aid in investigations.
The man appeared in court accused of employing his minor son, who was still of obligatory school age at the time of working on August 6 last year.
JobsPlus inspectors carried out an inspection at Għadira, when they noticed a minor working for some ten minutes. The boy was observed tying up ‘doughnut’ boats, canoes and paddle boats, before going inside the kiosk.
When the inspectors approached him, the minor said he works full-time. He could not provide them with a VAT number and called his father to come.
The father insisted that he had only been absent for two or three minutes while using the bathroom.
The child testified that he spent a lot of time at the beach with his father, and on the day of the inspection, his father asked him to stay with the kiosk while he went to the toilet. He initially said that his father had been away for two to three minutes, then changed it to three to four minutes.
The child said he was pressured by the inspectors and told them that he did not work there, as they kept questioning whether he did.
The court observed that the child’s version of events was not corroborated, and the boy offered no explanation as to why he had been taking care of the rental paddle boats, doughnut boats and canoes.
“It is disgraceful that a minor was made to lie under oath so his father can avoid a fine. Have people started selling their souls so readily?” the court asked.
It also took note of the accused’s testimony in which he claimed that another person would stay with the stall every time he had an errand. That third party was never summoned. The accused also claimed that he had no work in the morning, and people would only rent the vessels after lunch.
He claimed that he would prepare the stall slowly in the morning and work in the afternoon. He also claimed under oath that Mellieħa is usually empty at that time. The court observed that the man tried to deceive the court, as photographs showed otherwise.
The court found him guilty of the charges and fined him €2,500. It ordered the police to investigate the father and son for perjury.
In court it also emerged that the boy was not exempted to work given that the law excludes children under the age of 15. He had not been registered with JobsPlus and was therefore found to be employed illegally.