INDIS terminating concession on construction site where Jean Paul Sofia died

Government’s industrial parks agency is taking back the site at Corradino Industrial Estate where 20-year-old Jean Paul Sofia died last December after the building collapsed. 

INDIS Malta, the government company operating industrial parks, told MaltaToday that it has started court proceedings for the termination of the emphyteutical concession awarded to Kurt Buhagiar and his business partner Matthew Schembri. Buhagiar is a Lands Authority official. 

The concession concerns a plot of government land at Corradino on which the two were set to build a factory. However, the building that was still under construction collapsed last December, killing Jean Paul Sofia. He was found dead under the rubble after a 14-hour search. Several other workers were grievously injured in the incident. 

The remains of the factory that collapsed, killing Jean Paul Sofia and injuring several other workers

INDIS cited a breach of contractual conditions as the basis of its court proceedings.  

The agency said that the site of the construction collapse is currently under the control and jurisdiction of the inquiring magistrate into Sofia’s death. The magistrate has the power to authorise works until the site is released. 

“However, it must be made clear that the emphyteuta had assumed full responsibility for the site and INDIS was never involved in any part of the construction process, nor has it conducted any works thereon,” an INDIS spokesperson said. 

MaltaToday is informed that the magistrate ordered the demolition of the construction site at the industrial estate last March after the necessary evidence was taken from the area. 

Piles of rubble are all that is left of the factory that collapsed after the magistrate ordered the last standing structures to be demolished

But the magisterial inquiry is moving at a slow pace and more than four months later has not yet been concluded. No one has been charged over Sofia’s death. 

When 54-year-old Miriam Pace was similarly found under the rubble of her home in March 2020 after her house collapsed, four people were brought to court and charged a month later. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela has been highly critical of the delays in the magisterial inquiry, even criticising Magistrate Marseanne Farrugia directly as the inquiring magistrate overseeing the proceedings. 

He also wrote to the Chief Justice complaining of “unacceptable delays” in the inquiry, insisting that the magistrate has all the resources requested, including technical experts, at her disposal. 

Meanwhile, Jean Paul Sofia’s parents have been calling for a public inquiry into their son’s death. This call is being backed by the Nationalist Party and civil society groups, with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also lending her support. 

Activists, friends and Jean Paul Sofia's mother have been calling for a public inquiry into his tragic death (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

Last month, Sofia’s friends hung a banner close to the Msida skatepark reading #JusticeForJeanPaulSofia. In a statement, they called for a public inquiry into his death. “The inquiry is essential so that we can understand why Jean Paul Sofia’s life – filled with health and love – was cut short on the 3 December,” the statement said. 

Isabelle Bonnici, Sofia’s mother, placed a portrait of her son with candles in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Valletta earlier in April. The portrait was there to serve as a message in favour of launching a public inquiry but was removed overnight. 

A week later, Isabelle went outside the parliament building and handed out letters to MPs from both sides of the House pleading for a public inquiry into her son’s death. She also handed out a memorial card of her son together with the letter.