The owner of a restaurant, who was found responsible for the collapse of a building in Arad and the death of two people, lost his final appeal at the Cassation Court yesterday.
In February 2025, a gas cylinder exploded in the man’s restaurant, destroying the building that housed it and damaging nearby properties. Two men were killed and six people injured in the explosion.
In the initial trial, he was declared innocent of all charges, including manslaughter, causing bodily harm, and violating health and safety codes by not installing a Civil Defence-authorised gas leak detection device.
But the Public Prosecution appealed the verdict at the appeals court, which overturned his acquittal and sentenced him to three years in prison. Bahrain’s highest court has now dismissed the man’s second appeal.
The two killed in the tragic accident were Bangladeshi barber Shymol Chandra Shill and his Bahraini customer Ali Abdulla Al Ahmed, during a haircut appointment.
Mr Shill
The Bahraini appellant, who is in his 50s, was charged with being responsible for their deaths, and for serving food out of a facility that did not satisfy the required health and safety codes.
The kitchen reportedly did not pass a Civil Defence inspection and did not receive a fire safety certificate.
Furthermore, the kitchen did not use officially licensed gas detection devices, which left the gas leak unheeded, since the device neither sounded an alarm nor stopped the leak.
These violations led to the powerful explosion, which caused a complete collapse of the Arad building, and damaged nearby shops, vehicles, a mosque and a ma’atam.
Although the restaurateur was cleared of the charges by the Lower Criminal Court, he was convicted by the High Criminal Appeals Court – a verdict that the Cassation Court upheld.
The GDN previously reported that the blast affected a radius of 400 metres, and damage reached, but was not limited to, 10 homes, 10 shops and seven cars.
Nine fire engines and 51 Civil Defence personnel were involved in the rescue operations.
After the tragic incident, the prosecution interviewed 31 witnesses, inspected the scene, collected evidence, and interviewed civil defence experts and relevant officials.
“The technical inquiries and reports have solidified the chain of events behind the explosion,” read a previous statement.
“It was a result of a gas leak in a restaurant in the building, which occurred when the suspect, restaurant owner, did not follow the law and violated safety requirements.
“He operated the restaurant without it first undergoing a Civil Defence inspection to ensure that it is compliant with codes, and did not provide necessary protections.”
A national fund-raising campaign was launched to help families and businesses, led by the Arad Village Charity Society and supported by Parliament and the Muharraq Municipal Council.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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