The MPs said they decided to speak on the subject of the Forensic Laboratory after noting that numerous articles published by The Malta Independent over a number of weeks had not stirred the government into constructive action. He said the TMID articles had pushed the Labour Party to take a stand on the matter.

They said it was truly “disgusting” that the Forensic Laboratory seems to be no one’s responsibility because none of the three ministries supposedly responsible for it have spoken up.

Dr Gulia said that the opposition had “genuinely expected a reaction to such a serious and delicate issue”. The situation at the lab was, he said, “a crying shame”, with floor tiles lifting, no power points, windows which could not be closed in winter and with rainwater seeping in everywhere.

He said there was no protection at all for the forensic scientists who carry out analysis on court exhibits, the results of which are used in police investigations. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority, he said, had recognised this lack of adequate facilities and had closed the lab, with an order that workers were not to carry out any work there.

Dr Gulia mentioned a comprehensive list of equipment which the forensic scientists were using which was ancient, with some of the computers being used to perform tests on drugs not even Y2K compatible. He said certain equipment that had been purchased had remained held at Customs for more than two years, with the resultant loss of the guarantee.

Dr Gulia also said that while the three Forensic Laboratory experts were working in a delapidated building, the Malta National Laboratory had moved into an disused factory in San Gwann which cost Lm200,000 a year to rent and which is far too big for between five and 10 scientists.

Dr Farrugia said that upon hearing about this matter, two magistrates and a judge had taken the initiative and visited the laboratory to see for themselves the situation there. It is not known what their reaction had been.

Dr Farrugia mentioned two cases: the murder of the Gozitan lawyer and a recent double murder. He said investigations into these cases have slowed down tremendously because the work of the Forensic Laboratory is not being done.

He added that court exhibits such as blood samples and another body fluids have to be kept in special conditions because otherwise they would deteriorate. Most magistrates, said Dr Farrugia, end up storing these exhibits in their chambers, with the risk that they are damaged or that their value as evidence is lost completely.

He said the party was calling for an inquiry into the case, especially to see how the Lm1.2 million sidelined for this laboratory has been spent. The situation is terrible, said Dr Farrugia, and has been so for the past three years. Court cases are being adjourned because the court experts, mostly these forensic scientists, cannot carry out the job expected of them by the court.

The Malta Independent has covered this story from the very first day, when representatives of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority ordered the staff not to carry out work in the laboratory. It was revealed that the forensic scientists were using their own money to purchase surgical gloves and masks and other protective equipment in order to protect themselves while carrying out tests.

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