EUR20,000 fine for dumping a dog in a skip. EUR4,000 fine for killing a woman and destroying her home.
Joseph Galea was fined 20,000 euros for causing his dog's death. Raymond Calleja and Carmel Micallef were each fined 4,000 euros for causing a woman's death and destroying her home.
I was aghast when I read the verdict against two building contractors who caused the death of a woman, the severe injury of her son and the collapse of their home with the loss of all their possessions.
They were found guilty, but their only penalty was a fine of 4,000 euros each.
These two men, who were excavating the rock right next to the house which collapsed, actually admitted that they intentionally violated regulations by shaving that rock right up against the foundations of the house, instead of allowing for the mandatory safety buffer of two and a half feet. The excavator said in court that he knew he was committing a dangerous violation, but went ahead anyway because the site boss – the other defendant – told him he wouldn’t get paid otherwise.
He should have gone straight to the police, and the magistrate should have told him so.
Cracks appeared immediately in the walls of the house in Sliema’s Cathedral Street, 12 years ago. It collapsed in a loud explosion, killing 84-year-old Mrs Vella and severely injuring her middle-aged son Joe. Mrs Vella’s sister, who was also in the house, got away in time.
Joe Vella was left homeless and with no possessions. Mrs Vella is dead. Their house and their things are gone. The pain and suffering are unquantifiable. The excavator and the site boss admitted that they chose to take this risk and violate building laws, knowing full well what the consequences could be (which is why the buffer zone is mandatory).
But after a 12-year marathon through the courts, they are fined 4,000 euros each. What is wrong here, the law or its interpretation?
That level of deliberate and intentional negligence, with such terrible consequences, should warrant a stay in prison to focus their minds and the minds of those planning to do anything similar.
Last year a man of below-average intelligence from a severely deprived background was fined 20,000 euros for dumping a sick dog in a public skip in Birgu. Another man who shot a dog and buried it while still barely alive – the dog named Star by an overly sentimental public with confused priorities – was fined 10,000 euros and jailed for three months.
That’s dogs. But when you do something that you know carries a high risk of bringing down somebody’s house with people still inside, and which you know too is a gross violation of building laws, and the worst happens, people die, others are injured and homes are lost, you get fined 4,000 euros and stay out of jail after a 12-year process.
Mrs Vella’s children have dismissed this as a ‘sick joke’. It’s worse than that. It’s frightening. Thanks to the shrieking of people who anthropomorphise dogs (and here I speak as somebody who likes dogs and keeps them) and to a warped press which gives more soppy, silly coverage to animals operated on because they have tin-cans stuck in their mouth than it does to this kind of horrific story or cruelty to human beings, we now live in a society where our justice system will fine you five times as much for dumping a dog in a skip than it does for bringing down a woman’s house on her head and killing her.
And if there is enough panic in the newspapers about that dog, why, you might even be jailed on top of it.
While we’re on the subject of the dog which was operated on to have a tin-can removed from its mouth, I’ll just say that The Times missed the most crucial point of the story. Instead, it told us how cute the dog was as, fully recovered, it was taken by animal care volunteers back to its home on a Gozo cow farm and rushed around greeting the cows.
But if the dog had been properly looked after and fed by its cow-farmer owner, it wouldn’t have been foraging among rubbish in the first place, trying to lick bits out of tin-cans and getting one stuck in its mouth. And it wouldn’t have been ‘found’ in this fashion. The owner would have dealt with it and taken it to a vet himself.
And the dog wouldn’t have been frightened of people and described as ‘semi-feral’. Dogs with owners are not semi-feral. And yet, this dog was returned to its owner, and its owner wasn’t fined, reported for neglect or prosecuted. He would have had to dump it in a skip for that to happen, apparently.
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I agree that the penalties given are some what stupid when one compares them together. I believe that the €20,000 for throwing a dog in a skip is appropriate though I do believe that contractors should have had a harsher fine and a good few years in prison.
[Daphne – 20,000 euros for throwing a dog into a skip is wholly inappropriate, particularly when you consider how pigs and cows are kept in Malta, and that’s legal. One animal is not more equal than another.]
Well said, Daphne – always right and straight to the point.
The magistrate should be named and shamed . Why does the media cover up and not name the magistrate when reporting such shameful sentences?
[Daphne – The magistrate’s name was reported: Miriam Hayman.]
Unfortunately in this country we give more importance to dogs and cats than to people.
Sorry, but I can’t hold this one. Imagine what fine the court would impose on Joseph Muscat for what he’s dumped in the Labour Party skip.
That would all depend on the magistrate …
No, Gianni, it is not in this country. It is the Nordic mentality which is sweeping us like a strong tramuntana.
Let us not forget that the Nordic mentality – a pre-Christian relic – does not put Man as the Centre of the World.
The Nordic mentality is neither Humanist nor Christian. It is pagan and therefore views Man as part of the Whole, as one cog-wheel in the great contraption that is Nature.
Thus, handicapped people may be aborted or sterilised if born, but animals are to be treated almost as sacred.
I am not saying animals should be ill-treated, but I agree with the gist of Daphne’s argument that we should be anthropocentric not anthropomorphic in our attitudes.
Anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism are both mistaken worldviews.
It doesn’t take much spine or effort to gush over photos of dogs on Facebook, does it? http://markbiwwa.com/2011/06/07/5-stars-we-seem-to-forget/
In June 2004, Mary Zarb and Nadya Vavilova died in a similar case. At least the owner of the plot got three years for negligence, however, it seems that no financial compensation was awarded.
See: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120309/local/Other-structures-affected-by-nightclub-collapse.410336
[Daphne – For financial compensation, the victims or heirs of the victims must file a civil suit. You don’t get compensation through criminal (police) proceedings. It’s a different system.]
The length of time a judge will take to decide a ruling once a civil suit is filed takes years and years unfortunately.
So , either way, as far as a cowboy contractor and developer are concerned,, it’s a heads I win, tails you lose situation (in their favour).
But there have been cases where magistrates order the guilty party to pay compensation, am I right?
[Daphne – Yes, if it’s a civil suit. In a civil suit, the parties are the defendant and the victim. In a criminal trial, the parties are the defendant and the state, as represented by the police. So the money – the fine – goes to the state. The victim is not a party to a criminal trial, but only a witness.]
Actually, there were relatively recent amendments to the Criminal Code which allow victims or their heirs to be represented in the court proceedings, take part in the prosecution, cross-examine witnesses and request compensation during the same criminal proceedings.
Then again, with the case in question taking so long to be decided, I have doubts as to whether these new provisions would have been relevant.
That sort of fine will simply encourage developers to employ contractors with the sort of cowboy mentality that “u ejja mmorru, u jekk nidfnu lil xi hadd taht it-terrapin, mur ara., bicca multa u nkomplu qiesu qatt ma gara xejn”. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford professional and court fees to ensure that his third party rights are safeguarded and that the mandatory buffer distance be kept when excavation is planned near the common wall.
Thanks, Daphne. I overlooked that the name of the magistrate was reported. However if I were editor of a newspaper, my headline would read: ” Magistrate Hayman delivers shameful judgement”, and indeed run a campaign of headlining magistrates/judges whose judgements are appalling.
I am quite incredulous; what if the victim was magistrate’s Hayman’s own mother , would she be happy with such a judgement?
Or the person who defiled his five nieces, and got five years’ jail , one year for each defilement. Our judiciary is either utterly incompetent … or worse.
We have had two members of the judiciary found guilty already of corruption in a drugs case. Sometimes I wonder whether the rot runs a lot deeper.
You seem to have overlooked this one, which must be the worst of the lot – http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120422/local/Rape-victim-tells-of-his-numbness-as-priest-cleared.416472
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110806/local/Rape-charge-error-could-have-been-corrected-.379016
…and a third one got away with so much or more and still sits in judgment!
I really have nothing to add to this brilliant post, so I thought I’d might as well say so.
20,000 euros for throwing a dog into a skip is utter madness.
The perpetrator of this crime is a poor father with children who couldn’t probably afford a good lawyer.
What makes it worse is that the PN is a party of lawyers.
Even if the dog-dumper had not been fined 20,000 Euros, the 4,000 Euro fine for the loss of life and property is a pittance.
Although there is no real price one can put on life, I only see such a fine as an insult, since in no way does it reflect the fear suffered by Mrs Vella in the moments leading up to her being killed, nor does it reflect the suffering and loss of those she left behind.
Incisively brilliant.
All these arguments, although justified, are totally misdirected.
If the law says that the maximum fine for involuntary homicide is €11,646.87, neither Magistrate Wenzu nor Magistrate Rożi can fine anyone one cent more than that amount.
It is also misguided to throw in the “and left her son homeless” argument into the stew. That’s a totally separate case in a separate court, and probably (not sure about this) it’s the responsibility of the heirs – not the police – to lodge such a case.
You’ll probably find that newspaper editors are wiser than most think, at least in this case. The suggestion of naming and shaming with newspaper headlines and articles cannot be based simply on emotions, however justified they may be.
It would be a lot wiser to direct the arguments, energy, and resources towards a campaign to change these inconsistencies in our laws.
When I heard the news on the radio i thought i missed something but you are confirming that this is outrageous. Is there some stupid law about negligence that limits fines to 4000 euros or was the magistrate lenient?
If you kill someone through negligence shouldn’t you get at least a heavy fine and at max a stay at Corradino? I was under the impression you could get a jail term for driving under the influence for example.
So if you get a jail term for being drunk whilst driving shouldn’t you get a jail term for killing someone when you admit you knew you were risking that person’s life by not following regulations?
Daphne, its not often I say this, but in this instance you have got the wrong end of the stick regarding the Foxie story. The real issue is that a government department (the animal welfare department) refuses to cover all of Malta, telling callers that “We don’t do Gozo”.
I’ve had it said to me, as have several others I know.
This dog suffered for two days because the incident (that could happen to any dog) happened in Gozo not Malta, and was only resolved by Gozo SPCA putting massive pressure on the animal welfare department.
Otherwise nothing would have happened, and the dog would now be dead as it couldn’t eat or drink. Gozo SPCA tried to catch the dog, but it was impossible to catch it as it was so terrified. It needed to be tranquillised by dart gun, which only the animal welfare officers are licenced to do.
[Daphne – That was exactly my point. Why were volunteers and animal welfare officials expected to deal with somebody’s pet? And after the trauma, why was the ‘pet’ – described as semi-feral and foraging for food – returned to the farmer? When my dogs need attention, I don’t call the animal welfare department or volunteers. I call the vet and pay the bill myself.]
Thanks for replying, Daphne. Gozo SPCA have no legal powers to confiscate animals or prosecute in cases of cruelty to animals – only the police or the animal welfare department can do that – all Gozo SPCA can do is the best they can for stray and injured dogs and cats. The animal welfare department had to deal with this particular case as the dog needed tranquillising by dart gun.
Gozo SPCA have assisted around 350 animals a year until now. This will be cutback drastically going forward due to the following story. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120424/local/Gozo-SPCA-suffers-setback-in-plans-to-build-a-dogs-home.416880
It is a well-known fact that the courts in Malta inevitably favour the criminals, except – for some strange reason unknown to me – when it comes to foreigners.
Our judiciary and our legal practitioners have a lot to answer for. Their singular inability to stop making crime pay has damaged society permanently.
Nordic countries are the most evolved in Europe. Human rights are just and transparent. Ask the people what they think about justice in Malta and you get the answer.
A priest was acquitted because the abuse had taken place in another place, and a man will be heavily fined for killing three turtle doves instead of two.
Turtle doves have more protection than citizens and even chickens who are also bird species massacred brutally by the millions in slaughter houses.
Maltese citizens are losing trust in justice.
“Turtle doves have more protection than citizens”.
Actually they don’t. There are no quotas on how many humans one may kill.
I am the youngest son of the woman who died, and from what I see here, some people are really all up in arms whenever animals are abused or neglected but then hardly speak up if the victim happens to be a human being.
Yes, I also feel we are living in a third world country seeing the poor conditions farm animals and even pets are sometimes kept in and yes, I also voiced my protest in the past whenever animals were mistreated.
But to keep quiet over such a scandalous judgement given by such an experienced magistrate, who seems to have forgotten what the Criminal Code actually states…one wonders where we are heading to.
My mother was in the safety of her home preparing lunch for her brother and for my eldest brother Joe, who happened to be living there at the time. In spite of what the contractors said, they were only advised to move out a few minutes before the actual collapse of the house.
My brother had just enough time to walk in and tell my mother this when my uncle noticed some fine dust falling from the ceiling and rushed out. He only made it because he happened to be closer to the corridor leading to the doorway.
My mother had to walk around the table and a few seconds later, the dividing wall collapsed and brought down the two ceilings. My mother died a few hours later while my brother was still being given treatment for his wounds among which 20 sutures in his head alone.
The architect was also prosecuted but he walked away free. He had actually seen the danger a day earlier when he inspected the excavation work and noticed that the contractors had shaved the ground up to the party wall, exposing the foundations, and had even dug deeper than what the MEPA permit had authorized (seven courses instead of three).
This architect said in court that he had ordered the contractor to put down a concrete structure or to at least place some concrete blocks against the dividing wall because he was alarmed by what he had seen.
Does ordering the contractors to do this exonerate him from his responsibilties? Would this have happened if he had warned my mother of the danger when he noticed it the day before the house collapsed?
Does the magistrate think my mother, uncle and brother would have stayed there had we been warned of the danger? Does the magistrate even know what it means to have somebody so dear snatched away from us just because someone tried to make a bit more money by adding two and a half feet of width to his apartment block?
Did the magistrate consult the Criminal Code which states that anyone found guilty of causing a death through negligence, lack of ability etc is liable to a hefty fine plus a prison term?
And does she not know that a death and an injury through the same causes mentioned here are punishable by even greater and heavier fines and prison terms? Is the magistrate even aware that the same Criminal Code is accesible to one and all over the internet and that every Tom, Dick and Harry can refer to it?
The days when the average man in the street used to bow his head to judgements given by the ones upholding the law (or at least those who are meant to uphold it) and accept it all are over.
We shall be taking this further.
There are no words enough to express our *(the family) dissapointment on this issue. A promise that even my Uncle said before – it will not stop here.
Nanna you will never be forgotten and your name and what you stood for will always be remembered!
Miss you each day and will always remember you in our prayers in our thoughts and all!
Claudia Pecorella