Five arrested over Jean Paul Sofia death

Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the tragic death of Jean Paul Sofia, police confirmed on Saturday.

Sofia was killed in a construction site accident last December, after a three-storey building he was working at collapsed during construction works. Five men - three Albanian, a Maltese and a Bosnian were rescued by members of the Civil Protection Department. 

According to reports by the Times of Malta, among those detained are property developers Kurt Buhagiar and Matthew Schembri, architect Adriana Zammit, and contractor Miromir Milosovic. They are set to face arraignment on Sunday afternoon.

The arrests took place late on Friday night, shortly after the police received a copy of the magisterial inquiry conclusion.

On Friday, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced at Castille that he would be asking the AG to make the report public so that it can be published for the general public to read.

The inquiry which was concluded in the wake of a controversial refusal by Abela and the entire Labour parliamentary group, comes almost eight months after Sofia's death.

Magistrate Marse-Anne Farrugia was under intense criticism from Prime Minister Robert Abela for having taken so long to conclude the inquiry.

Only last Monday, Abela announced the setting up of a public inquiry, citing the magistrate’s delay as a reason for his U-turn on the matter.

However, the Prime Minister had been opposed to a public inquiry, insisting that it was the magisterial inquiry that would deliver justice.