Qatar court issues ruling on Bin Durham building collapse

Doha, Qatar: The Court of First Instance in Qatar issued a ruling on the accused individual, the Director of the Contracting Agency, who was in charge of the maintenance of a building in the Bin Durham area (Mansoura) that collapsed on March 22, 2023. 

This comes following the initial statement issued by the Attorney General’s Office on April 18, 2023.

"The competent court issued its ruling to punish the accused, the Director of the company executing the maintenance work, with imprisonment for a period of 5 years; an imprisonment for a period of 3 years for the consultant of the aforementioned company; along with an imprisonment for a period of one year for the accused who owns the building," stated the Public Prosecution in a press statement, adding that the prison sentence was suspended for the building owner. 

The fine imposed on the main accused company that carried out the maintenance work amounted to QR500,000 while the fine imposed on the owner of the building amounted to QR20,000.

The statement further stressed that the expatriates who are accused in the case will be deported from Qatar after carrying out the sentence imposed.

The four-storeyed structure in Mansoura collapsed on March 22, 2023, leaving one dead, while seven others were rescued. The building was undergoing maintenance work when this accident occurred. 

The Public Prosecution in its statement in April had said that the maintenance work was undertaken without the necessary permits and residents were not evacuated to carry out the work. It held the main contractor, the project consultant, the building owner, and the company which carried out the maintenance work responsible for the incident.