Watch: JeanPaul Sofia’s Tragic Death Needs A Public Inquiry, PN MP Insists – ‘He Can’t Have Died For Nothing’
Nationalist MP Jerome Caruana Cilia has called for a public inquiry into the death of JeanPaul Sofia, the 20-year-old who tragically lost his life when a Kordin construction site collapsed last December.
“I spoke to JeanPaul’s mother Isabelle yesterday and she is heartbroken and hurt,” Caruana Cilia told Parliament yesterday. “This was a tragedy to her family and the nation, a completely unnecessary tragedy that made the people realise yet again that Malta needs to find solutions to these problems.”
“It cannot be that an innocent person dies like this and it’s just business as usual, that everyone goes back to their daily routines after a few days of condolences, media coverage and social media posts. Certain people in positions of authority don’t care about this at all, which is unacceptable.”
Sofia tragically died when a construction site collapsed on 3rd December and it took CPD officials 15 hours to retrieve his body from the rubble.
Police have launched an investigation but have yet to charge anyone in court.
Caruana Cilia suggested in Parliament that the authorities are trying to bury this case so as not to annoy certain “big shots” with access to power.
“Some privileged people think that they’re gods, that they can do as they please and that they’re above the law. They believe this because they know that people in power are ready to defend them or are even directly in business with them. It’s useless changing the laws if we don’t grab the bull by the horns, seriously address this crisis and act properly with these cowboys.”
He said that a public inquiry, similar to the one held a few years ago into the assassination of Daphne Caurana Galizia, could help the full truth come out and propose recommendations on the way forward.
“Isabelle rightfully stressed with me that her son couldn’t have died for nothing and that she will do her utmost to ensure that justice is done,” Caruana Cilia said.
“I tell her that she isn’t alone and that I won’t leave her alone in her quest for justice and truth.”
The construction site in Kordin where JeanPaul Sofia lost his life last December
The construction site was being developed into a timber factory on land leased to Lands Authority official Kurt Buhagiar and turnkey business owner Matthew James Schembri.
Both men have had serious brushes with the law in the past.
Buhagiar was arrested in Sicily in 2009 and charged with smuggling migrants from Libya. Schembri was last year charged with hiring two Albanian hitmen to assault his ex-wife’s father as he was walking along the Sliema front and is pleading not guilty.
The project architect has been listed as Adriana Zammit, who works for Infrastructure Malta, while the Shift News identified the contractor as Serbian national Miromir Milosovic.
Cover photo: Left: PN MP Jerome Caruana Cilia, Right: JeanPaul Sofia with his mother Isabelle
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