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A building site supervisor has been found guilty of the wrongful death of a labourer, who died after leaning on a wall, which collapsed and led to his fall from the first storey to the ground level.
The Bahraini site manager was convicted of four charges related to manslaughter and occupational safety violations at the High Criminal Court.
The court heard that the tragic accident took place on a July morning, when the 60-year-old victim, Balwinder Singh, was working at an under-construction house in Sitra.
Shortly before the accident, the Indian labourer had taken a brief break to drink tea by a window on the unfinished building’s first floor. When he stood up to return to work, he reportedly felt dizzy and lost his balance. He leaned against a wall in an attempt to steady himself, but the wall gave way, causing him to fall along with it to the ground, where he landed among cinderblocks.
He was taken by ambulance to the BDF Hospital, where doctors attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at 7.17am on July 16.
The Bahraini site manager was charged with committing a mistake that resulted in the death of a labourer working under him and not providing means of protection which would have kept the victim safe.
Prosecutors also charged him with not ensuring the safety of the site, or securing the points of entry and exit to make them free of danger.
He was further charged with not assessing risks on the site or reviewing safety measures taken in the past to evaluate their effectiveness and take relevant actions.
The 44-year-old Bahraini contractor was found guilty of all four charges, and was sentenced to three months in prison for his role in Mr Singh’s death.
The death was deemed a direct consequence of the job, following an investigation by the Labour Ministry’s Occupational Safety Department, which declared it as the defendant’s responsibility.
According to the report, the incident happened while workers were in the process of installing a lintel, which is a structural beam used in the construction of doors and windows to support the load of the wall above.
Mr Singh had fallen from the height of three metres, the report added.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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