Three jailed for death of four cleaning workers

The Court of First Instance has sentenced three persons, accused of causing the death of four cleaning workers, to jail for six months each, local daily Al Sharq has reported.

A trading company that had ordered execution of work has been penalised with a fine of QR200,000 and also directed to pay QR200,000 to the kin of each of the deceased.

The Public Prosecution had earlier stated that the trading company and the three defendants were accused of negligence and failure to abide by safety and security rules. The four victims entered the manhole without the necessary safety measures. They were found dead when brought them out by Dukhan Security personnel, the report added.

The four victims died due to suffocation after inhaling hydrogen sulfide gas inside the manhole, according to the post-mortem report.

The court said another reason for the verdict was that the company and persons responsible did not take the necessary safety measures and also did not provide tools for rescue, the report stated.

The court added that the first defendant (the trading company) is responsible for the deaths and, therefore, has been punished under Article 37 of the penal law.