In a letter sent to Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera yesterday, chemist Mario Mifsud, serologist Robert Cardona and analyst Godwin Sammut said they cannot carry out work ordered by the court because of the “state of the forensic laboratory and the lack of adequate equipment to carry out the necessary tests”.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, the experts said this was the second time they complained about this and other similar matters. They added that in the last 18 months, they had approached several court officials and officials from the Justice Ministry to speak to them about the problem. Moreover, they said, members of the judicature had personally visited the laboratory to see for themselves the state of the lab.

They said that so as not to stop or slow down the court proceedings, they had continued working, but now the situation has become unbearable and they do not want to continue working in this environment. They feel they have given the authorities enough time to bring the lab up to standard. However, despite several promises, this was never done, they said.

The experts added that the lack of adequate equipment in the lab put their health and safety at work in jeopardy. As examples of equipment that was missing, the experts mentioned fume cabinets and biological cabinets that would protect them while they are carrying out tests on items given to them by the court.

They said they had written to the Occupational Health and Safety Authority informing it about the situation at the laboratory. Moreover, they complained that they do not have enough space to store all the exhibits passed on to them by the court for testing.

The experts said that because of this situation at the lab, they are not able to carry out their job in a professional manner, adding that before the situation at the lab is improved, they will not be able to carry out their job as expected.