Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537750
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 JULY 2025 COURT JULIA DOWLING jdowling@mediatoday.com.mt Man handed suspended sentence after giving cocaine to 13-year-old girl A man has been found guilty of giving cocaine to a 13-year-old girl, who later overdosed and was hospitalised after a night out in Paceville. Ayrton Bugeja from Floriana was accused of giving cocaine to a 13-year-old girl on 24 June 2016. He was also accused of recidivism. Superintendent Hubert Cini testified that on the day of the incident, he was requested at Mater Dei Hospital at 11:30am after the girl had been admitted on suspicion of a cocaine over- dose. The girl recalled being in Paceville with her friend, where they had met Bugeja, who pro- vided her with the cocaine. The girl and her friend left Paceville at around 7:00am for the latter's house in Birgu, where she lost consciousness. Doctors who saw the girl sus- pected a drug overdose. Police Superintendent Josric Mifsud questioned Bugeja, who denied supplying the substance to the girl but admitted to be- ing with her at a club. The girl told the court that she went to Gainpula with a friend, then to a playground, and finally to Clique in Pace- ville. When asked how much cocaine she had consumed, the girl said roughly 16 lines. She then emphasised that she didn't know exactly how much, but it was more than enough for her to overdose. The girl testified in 2022, say- ing she was lying on the bed at her friend's house when she started to feel unwell. She pro- ceeded to go outside and then felt a push before she passed out. Moreover, she testified that she never bought drugs for herself but claimed her friend did. She also explained that her friend would also offer her drugs, but she frequently re- fused. The girl's mother also testi- fied, stating that when she saw her daughter in the hospital, she appeared as though she was "dead". The girl told her that she had been in Birgu with her friends when someone spiked her drink. The accused also testified, claiming it was the first time he had met the girl, who was accompanied by another girl and a middle-aged man. He de- nied supplying her with drugs and insisted he did not use any himself. He also said he saw the girl and the middle-aged man entering and exiting the toilet several times. The court noted that it was faced with two conflicting accounts: the girl's version, where she claimed to have con- sumed cocaine provided by the accused, and Bugeja's ver- sion, in which he denied any involvement with drugs at all. The court found the girl's tes- timony consistent and credi- ble. It concluded that Bugeja was guilty of drug trafficking by sharing cocaine. However, it acquitted him of recidivism due to a lack of supporting evi- dence from the prosecution. During the sentence, the court highlighted the gravity of the offence, specifically, the supply of cocaine to a 13-year- old. Although the exact quan- tity of the drugs was not estab- lished, it was clear that it led to the girl's hospitalisation due to an overdose. The court also took into ac- count the fact that the accused was charged five years after the incident. Bugeja was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, and fined €2,000. Magistrate Gianella Camilleri Busuttil presided over the case, while Police Superintendent Hubert Cini led the prosecu- tion. File photo Man cleared of involuntary harm charges after 2016 Marsa abattoir fire left three injured ANTHONY Grima, a 54-year- old gas installer, was acquitted of involuntary grievous bodily harm charges after a fire broke out during maintenance works on the Marsa Public Abattoir's gas system in November 2016. During the works, a serious gas explosion had left three workers injured, one of them critically, after maintenance works on an LPG system ended in disaster. The three workers: Anthony Grima, Donis Dobrinis Bildiris, and Charles Seisun had been summoned to the abattoir to carry out maintenance work on the LPG system enclosed by a fenced area. They were tasked with addressing a fault in the LPG vaporizer supplying the abattoir. Due to the malfunc- tion, the firepower produced by the singeing machine was sig- nificantly reduced and the so- lenoid valve was to be replaced. While one worker worked in- side the fenced enclosure, the other two remained outside near an open door to a boiler room adjacent to the site. Sud- denly, fire erupted from the boiler room door. Grima and Dobrinis escaped with relatively minor injuries, while Seisun's injuries were more severe, with 45% partial thickness burns, requiring in- tensive care treatment. Testimonies and events leading to the fire Eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage showed that the three men arrived in two vehicles. The men had no keys to access the fence which prompted Grima to jump the fence to begin work. Minutes before, they were seen smoking cigarettes near their vehicles despite several 'No Smoking' signs on site. Grima admitted to having smoked in the area with Seisun and Dobrinis. Donis Dobrinis testified that Grima had started the process of draining LPG liquid from the evaporator unit inside the fenced area just before the fire broke out. Daniel Vella, an expert wit- ness, analysed CCTV footage and concluded the fire was ac- cidental but caused by negli- gence on the part of the three Easy Gas workers. According to him, the fire broke out seconds after Grima discharged the liq- uid which vaporised and mixed with air to form a flammable gas cloud. Despite no obvious electri- cal sources near the ignition point, since the evaporator unit's power supply was cut off, the experts pointed to smok- ing near the installation as the most likely ignition cause. The workers were repeatedly seen smoking near the gas tanks and boiler room. DNA analysis of a cigarette butt found at the scene did not match Grima but matched Do- brinis, making it impossible to definitively link the ignition source to Grima's cigarette. Nonetheless, Grima's smok- ing at the site was confirmed by video and testimonies. The court found the men smoking near the gas system constituted clear negligence, however, the court emphasised that under Maltese criminal law, negligence alone is not enough for a conviction. Criminal liability not only re- quires proof of negligence but also a causal link between neg- ligent conduct and the harm- ful event. There must be clear evidence that the accused's ac- tions directly caused the harm. So, while the court found Grima's conduct to be highly negligent, it held that the pros- ecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Grima's negligence directly caused the fire. Other possible ignition sources, or even the actions of the other two workers, could not be excluded. The inability to tie the ignition specifically to Grima's cigarette butt prevent- ed conviction. Regarding the separate charge of failing to take reasonable care for health and safety, the court recognised Grima's neg- ligence in smoking but noted a lack of training provided to him about the dangers and absence of supervision. The court ruled it would be unjust to convict Grima on this charge without evidence of ad- equate training or supervisory intervention. Anthony Grima was thus acquitted. Seisun and Bildiris were ar- raigned and charged separately on the case. The prosecution was led by Inspector Sarah Magri. De- fence lawyers Jose Herrera and Kristina Camilleri Deguara represented Grima. MAYA GALEA mgalea@mediatoday.com.mt