A carpenter at a furniture factory, who was not held responsible for the death of a 17-year old worker who was trapped in a door-making machine eight years ago, had his acquittal confirmed on appeal.

The case concerned the tragic death of Matthew Bartolo at Construct Furniture in Luqa on June 4, 2015.

Bartolo was working under the supervision of David Peter Blundell.

The two were placing sheets of wood onto a machine’s ‘table’ before activating the mechanism.

The machine was operated from a console some five metres away and was surrounded by a safety fence which, however, did not go right around the operating area.

A court-appointed engineering expert had reported that the machine was “not safe for use,” even though it was frequently operated.

Shortly before the fatality, a fellow worker had asked Blundell and Bartolo whether all was ok and both had answered “yes.”

A worker had testified that as he walked past his two fellow workers, he heard Blundell call out to Bartolo to ask if all was okay and the younger worker replied “yes.”

Then the machine was switched on.

Suddenly, the eyewitness heard Blundell shouting, “ow, ow, ow. Hit the emergency button.”

Looking back, the eyewitness saw Bartolo trapped in the machine.

He had been outside the barrier when he last saw him, but by the time the other worker had walked on some three metres, Bartolo ended up beyond the barrier, inside the restricted zone, the eyewitness later testified.

How the victim ended up there in such a short lapse of time could not be determined with certainty, observed the Court of Criminal Appeal when delivering judgment upon appeal by the Attorney General.

A magisterial inquiry into the workplace accident had concluded that no criminal charges were to be pressed against Blundell.

But the Occupational Health and Safety Authority sought criminal prosecution against Blundell for having allegedly failed to take all measures to safeguard safety at the workplace.

In May last year a Magistrates’ Court acquitted Blundell  from all criminal liability.

That acquittal has now been confirmed on appeal.

Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera observed that Blundell was a worker and as such was bound in terms of law to safeguard not only his own safety but also that of others who could be affected by the work.

That obligation applied to “every worker” including the victim.

After scrutinising the evidence to understand what exactly happened at the time of the incident the court took note of the fellow worker’s account.

An OHSA official also testified that Blundell could not tell whether the victim was outside or beyond the barrier.

The evidence did not show that the incident was foreseeable had the accused applied greater diligence and attention.

Blundell had in fact made sure that it was safe to start the machine by twice asking his young colleague if all was okay.

And Bartolo had answered in the affirmative.

The court also declared that the accused’s statement and any references to it in the records of the case were not admissible in evidence.

At the time of the incident, Maltese law did not provide for legal assistance of a suspect during interrogation, but only consultation prior to releasing his statement to the police.

In this case, Blundell was questioned only a few hours after the incident when he was in a state of shock.

The Police Act also states that precautions must be taken when interrogating a potentially vulnerable suspect so as to ensure that his statement is not produced through undue influence by investigators.

And a vulnerable person in terms of that law, included someone who was under the influence of medication or alcohol or under a state of shock, observed the judge.

When all was considered the court concluded that the prosecution failed to produce sufficient evidence to prove what happened in those moments after the machine was switched on until the accident that resulted in the young worker’s tragic death.

A reasonable doubt remained and that worked in favour of the accused, said the court, rejecting the AG’s appeal and confirming the acquittal.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri were defence counsel.