(File Picture) Villaggio Mall fire

DOHA: In a landmark judgement, a lower criminal court yesterday sentenced four people to six years in jail at the end of a nine-month hearing in the Villaggio Mall fire case.

A fifth defendant was handed down five years in jail, while two of the seven defendants were cleared of all charges.

Nineteen people, including 13 children, were killed in the fire in the luxury mall on May 28 last year, which shocked the entire country and drew international attention. 

The dead included two firefighters and four women employees of Gympanzee, a day care facility in the mall, which operated without a proper licence. 

Those convicted include two co-owners of Gympanzee and the owner and manager of the mall.

The mall’s assistant manager and head of security were cleared of all charges. All the five will get 15 days to appeal and will remain out of custody until the appeal process is completed, legal circles said yesterday. 

The court also ordered payment of blood money of QR200,000 each to families of all the 19 victims. 

It referred the case to the civil court to decide on other financial claims, including material and emotional damages, by the families.

At least five families of victims and some defendants were present in the packed courtroom to hear the verdict. 

The families expressed happiness and satisfaction over the judgement, saying “justice has been served.” 

The first and second accused were charged with unintentional manslaughter due to their negligence and failure to abide by rules and regulations.

Both had hired a shop from the third accused to operate the day care centre without fulfilling licensing requirements.

They didn’t provide necessary security and fire safety measures and the crèche was located in an unsuitable place that caused the smoke to concentrate in the area, leading to the death of many people.

They set up and operated the centre using a licence that was not intended for such a facility. The licence was not issued by the authorised sections. 

The third convict was also charged with causing death due to negligence and violation of rules.

He signed a contract with the first and second accused to rent out the shop to set up the illegal day care centre and failed to provide required emergency exits and fire safety equipment.

He also failed to monitor the work of his subordinates to ensure that fire extinguishers were properly maintained. Similar charges were imposed on the fourth and fifth accused. 

All the five were charged with failure to take necessary measures to protect lives of employees of the mall and visitors. 

The seventh accused was charged with issuing a licence to the day care centre without completing required procedures.

The charges were based on Qatar’s Penal Code, Labour Law, Civil Defence Law and the Consumer Protection Law, according to Al Sharq.

The Peninsula