WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca skirted questions on Wednesday when repeatedly asked about a magistrate’s advice to prosecute him over the workplace death of Joseph Ellul.
“I have nothing to add about the incident. It is subject to a magisterial inquiry. I will not give comments, and we have nothing to add to a statement we made previously,” he said.
In extracts lawyer and former Nationist MP Jason Azzopardi said are from a magisterial inquiry into Ellul’s death, magistrate Elaine Rizzo recommends that criminal charges be filed against Bilocca.
Azzopardi said the Attorney General has not taken action against the six people mentioned in the inquiry, one year after its conclusions.
Ellul, 38, was found dead with cuts to his throat close to a lift of an incinerator used to process abattoir waste at WasteServ’s thermal treatment facility in Marsa.
The extracts Azzopardi published on social media suggested that Ellul died when he stuck his head in a hatch to check a piece of equipment that was not functioning properly.
Among other things, the hatch had no guards, mesh, or protective features in place.
The extracts also quote Bilocca saying that Ellul’s death was “an act of stupidity”, and that the machinery was not “childproof”.
On Wednesday afternoon, Bilocca was asked if there had been any safety feature changes at the facility since the incident.
Bilocca just said he would not give any comment that could refer to the magisterial inquiry.
“The only thing I can say is that we give health and safety the highest priority. We have a very strong health and safety department and have facilities that are ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) certified”.
On whether he stood by his comments that the death was “an act of stupidity”, Bilocca said:
“As I already said I will not comment on the incident, I will not comment on what was said on social media. WasteServ gave everything it was asked for by the magisterial inquiry and it has not heard anything from there. It will be commenting at the appropriate place.”
Asked if he plans to resign, following recommendations to criminally charge him, he said WasteServ has already commented publicly and will cooperate in the official procedure.
Pressed about the fact that the inquiry specifically mentions him, Bilocca insisted: “We made the comments we had to make.”
“I will not make any further comment except to continue to express my sorrow and solidarity with the family and his (Ellul's) friends who are still employed at WasteServ.”
In November, when Azzopardi had first published an excerpt from the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry, WasteServ "steadfastly" rejected accusations.
WasteServ said none of its management or employees were aware of the inquiry findings "and are unable to comment on the incident" due to ongoing legal proceedings.
It said, however, that the management and employees "steadfastly reject any accusations that they were responsible, even indirectly, for their colleague's shocking death".
"Mr Ellul died as a result of an unforeseeable accident," the statement said.
"The company unreservedly condemns attempts by Jason Azzopardi to compromise its personnel’s presumption of innocence and distort the course of justice through an unauthorised leak, which will now see them subjected to a trial by social media."
The employees were "shocked and traumatised" by Ellul's death, it said, and "WasteServ has done everything possible to support the victim's family and will continue to do so," the November statement said.
Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said only extracts of the magisterial inquiry have been seen when approached for comment.
She said she did not want to influence the judicial process and accused the media of playing “games” and conducting a “systematic attack” on WasteServ.
“WasteServ, its leadership together with its workers, who were colleagues of Joseph Ellul, released a statement in November that was clear in its content,” Dalli said.