The magistrate leading the inquiry into the construction death of Jean Paul Sofia has once again extended the deadline to conclude her report, sources close to the law courts told Times of Malta.
When contacted, senior government sources said the extension has angered the government, which is now said to be discussing possible options, including the possibility of a parallel investigation. To this end, Prime Minister Robert Abela has convened an urgent parliamentary group meeting for later on Monday.
Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia filed her note for an extension with the Attorney General’s office almost eight months after the fatal accident. This is the sixth such request since the law stipulates that the magistrate must ask for an extension, detailing the reason, every 30 days that the magisterial inquiry is not concluded.
Government sources said the Prime Minister’s office was not happy when informed about the extension. The sources said the government was not taking this request lightly and was discussing what action could be taken. Options could include a parallel inquiry.
Sofia, 20, died under tons of rubble when a building under construction in Corradino collapsed last December. His mother, Isabelle Bonnici has since been campaigning doggedly for a public inquiry to be held but Labour MPs last week defeated an opposition motion pushing for it.
Pressure has been mounting on Magistrate Farrugia to conclude her inquiry so that the police can then see its recommendations and act accordingly.
Abela has been repeating his view that there is a need to wait for the outcome of the magisterial inquiry. In an attempt to pressure Magistrate Farrugia to conclude her inquiry, he wrote to Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti last April and again last week asking him to ensure that the magisterial inquiry into the construction death of Sofia is concluded as soon as possible.
“When one considers the sensitivity of the case, this is a totally unacceptable delay,” he had written as he requested the chief justice to use his powers and prerogative to ensure the inquiry is concluded for the course of justice to progress so that those responsible are made to answer for their actions.
It is not unusual that magisterial inquiries take longer than expected to be concluded, especially if technical expertise is involved even though the inquiry into the collapse of a building in Ħamrun that had killed Miriam Pace in 2020 had been concluded in a month and 10 days. The Pilatus inquiry had taken almost five years to be concluded.
According to information tabled in parliament, the number of pending magisterial inquiries stands at 1,698. One of those inquiries goes back to 1979. One inquiry is also still pending from each of the years 1992, 1991, 1990, 1988 and 1989.
Four pending inquiries date from 2005, one from 2006, six from 2009, 15 from 2011, 44 from 2016, 88 from 2017, 128 from 2018 and 157 from 2019.