Teenager's workplace death case to be reheard after appeal court decision
Legal error prompts Court of Appeal to revoke original sentence
The case against three employers accused of causing the workplace death of 17-year-old Matthew Bartolo must be reheard after an appeals court revoked the original sentence.
Matthew Bartolo was killed in a workplace accident on June 4, 2015 at the Construct Furniture factory after getting trapped between two moving parts of a machine used to manufacture doors.
The original court judgement on October 13, 2025 had acquitted company executives James Anthony Cefai and Amanda Cefai of all charges against them due to lack of evidence.
However, shareholder John Agius was found guilty of failing to conduct a risk assessment before employing a minor. He was handed a €7,000 fine and acquitted of all other charges, which included involuntary homicide.
The Attorney General had appealed this decision on the grounds that the court incorrectly acquitted the defendants on certain charges by claiming that the underlying laws had been repealed.
The prosecution argued that while the primary law governing occupational health and safety was repealed and replaced by a new framework, the criminal nature of the acts remained. The court should have applied the “least grave penalty” instead of acquitting the accused.
Prosecutors also pointed out that Bartolo had been assigned tasks he was not legally permitted to perform, and that the machinery at the factory lacked adequate barriers.
They further insisted that all three defendants should be held responsible for the safety of the minor.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal focused on the legal error around the repealed legislation.
It agreed that the court must apply the least grave penalty when the law changes between the time of the offence and the sentencing, but this does not prevent a court from finding guilt if the act remains a crime under the new law.
The court also clarified that a repeal does not affect penalties or legal proceedings for offences committed while the law was still in force.
Therefore, it was incorrect for the first court to acquit the defendants of certain occupational health and safety charges just because the specific subsidiary legislation had been replaced.
The Court of Appeal annulled the original sentence and sent the acts back to the Court of Magistrates for a new judgement to be delivered.
Lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Alessandro Farrugia were parte civile.