Justice has not been served in the "shameful" sentence handed to two architects found guilty of the involuntary homicide of Miriam Pace in a house collapse, two NGOs have said.
Architects Roderick Camilleri, 37 and Anthony Mangion, 73 were ordered to do 880 hours of community service and pay €18,000 in fines after being held criminally liable for the March 2, 2020 collapse in Ħamrun.
In separate statements, Moviment Graffitti and Repubblika both said the judgement did not serve as justice.
The mother-of-two was buried under the rubble of her home after it collapsed next to a construction site.
Graffitti described Magistrate Joe Mifsud's 98-page judgement as "shameful" and said the "ridiculous sentence" confirmed how little Malta's authorities, laws and courts respect the value of life.
"Meanwhile, the developers have been given the signal that they can do what they want without consequence, something that has now come out of the court itself," Graffitti said.
The group led protests against the 'rule of the developers' after the house collapse, the most devastating of a series of similar incidents at the time.
Civil society group Repubblika also said justice was not served.
"Today, the courts killed her [Pace] a second time," the NGO said.
The woman was killed "while others were making money" and because of the "rush to fill up bank accounts while choking others in concrete", Repubblika said.
Since the collapse, Pace’s husband, Carmelo, has regularly posted tributes to his deceased wife on social media and questioned what the authorities have done to remedy the situation, fearing that the tragedy might be “swept under the carpet.”
When testifying in court in October, Pace said that although the family could assess its material losses brought about by the collapse, no monetary value could be put “on memories”.
Meanwhile, angry reactions to the judgement were also shared on social media, with many expressing shock at the sentence.
One Facebook user described the sentence as "a farce" while another said the court should feel "shame".
Times of Malta has reached out the Kamra tal-Periti for a comment, with a spokesperson saying the judgement is currently being reviewed.