With the support of the Public Interest Litigation Network, the parents of Jean Paul Sofia have filed a case for moral and material damages in Malta's civil courts against the five individuals and their companies who have been identified as having played a role in the death of their son, who was tragically killed on 3 December 2022 when a building under construction in Kordin collapsed while Sofia was onsite, a statement by the Network read.
The case has been filed against Perit Adriana Zammit, Matthew Schembri both in his personal capacity and as director of All Plus Ltd and Whitefrost Company Ltd, Kurt Buhagiar, and Miromir Jovicevic and Dijana Jovicevic in their personal capacity and as representatives of Milmar Construction Ltd.
A report by the PILN and The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation published in June this year, “Victims of Malta’s Construction Boom: the fatal wait for accountability”, found that between 2010 and 2022 at least 49 workers were killed while working on construction sites.
The civil case filed today, together with the ongoing criminal prosecution case and the public inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death, is aimed at ensuring full justice for Jean Paul Sofia and ultimately protecting the lives of other workers on construction sites. The application was signed by PILN lawyers Dr Christine Bellizzi, Dr Matthew Cutajar, Dr David Zahra and Dr David Bonello, who was privately engaged.
The five people were arrested following the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia. They were later charged with the involuntary homicide of the youngster.