The Ħamrun house collapse that killed Miriam Pace was partly attributable to the confusion in the regulatory framework governing the construction industry, a leading architectural expert told court on Friday.
Alex Torpiano was testifying at the ongoing proceedings against 36-year old Roderick Camilleri and 72-year old Anthony Mangion, the two architects responsible for the building project at Triq Abela Scolaro, next door to the Pace family home.
Torpiano had been appointed by the magisterial inquiry into the fatal incident that took place on March 2, 2020, when excavation works at the building site had caused the neighbouring property to collapse, killing the 54-year old mother-of-two.
Answering questions by the architects’ lawyer Arthur Azzopardi, Torpiano said that the incident partly reflected “the state of confusion of the industry's regulations (il-konfuzjoni tar-regolamentazzjoni tal-industrija)".
Before embarking on a construction project, attention must be paid to the plans of any adjacent building, Torpiano said, adding that the internal walls of the neighbouring property played an important part in this audit.
“The detection of an unbounded wall should ring an alarm bell,” he said.
Did he fear something will collapse on him?
Another court-appointed expert, Mario Buttigieg, testified about his conclusions after examining the accident site and finding the “hammer of the hymac [construction machinery] inserted in the rock, literally speaking.”
Tracks on the ground indicated the semi-circular trajectory taken by the hydraulic excavator as it turned backwards, away from the wall beneath the Pace residence to the opposite side of the construction site.
Buttigieg said that footage capturing the moment of the incident showed that as the machine was about to move backwards, the building collapsed.
Marks on the right side of the collapsed building appeared compatible with the excavator’s hammer.
Moreover, the machine seems to have been operated with a fully outstretched arm, thereby increasing the risk of collapse.
“Was it because he feared that something might collapse upon him” the lawyer asked.
“I cannot say that,” came the reply.
Another witness, Chris Zarb from MCZM Ltd, the company behind the Ħamrun construction project, chose not to testify after being informed by the prosecution that they were not yet in a position to exclude criminal action in his regard.
He was assisted by lawyer Giannella de Marco and Michael Grech.
In the course of Friday's hearing, Magistrate Joseph Mifsud informed the parties about an application that had been filed by the Chamber of Architects for a copy of the proces-verbal of this case.
The court was not inclined to uphold the request, since it would not wish a parallel investigation taking place once proceedings were still ongoing.
Both the defence and prosecution also objected to the request, saying that the law clearly laid down that the records of a criminal case were only accessible to the parties, and that certainly did not include the Chamber of Architects.
The case continues in March.
Superintendent Robert Vella and Inspector Matthew Galea prosecuted.
Lawyers Joseph Giglio and David Bonello appeared for the Pace family.