Sharjah court acquits Egyptian in gas leak case

The accused charged for endangering lives of 77 people by moving hazardous material without permission

The Sharjah Shariah Court, presided over by judge Dr Yaqoub Al Hamadi, has acquitted an Egyptian carpenter in his 50s who was charged for endangering the lives of 77 people and causing damage to the environment by moving hazardous material without permission.
According to the prosecution records, the carpenter removed four cylinders containing chlorine from a plot which he was entrusted with cleaning. Some workers cut open the cylinder and caused a gas leak, endangering the lives of others.
On July 18, the Sharjah Police received information that three people suffered from suffocation due to inhalation of some unknown gas in Sharjah Industrial Area No 10.
Police patrols, ambulance and civil defence officials rushed to the site and found that many workers in a labour accommodation became ill due to inhalation of gas. The workers were rushed to Kuwaiti Hospital and Al Qasimi Hospital.
The police found four gas cylinders outside a plot in the area. As the police tried to bury the gas cylinders, they also fainted due to inhalation of the gas, and were rushed to the hospital.
The accused told the police officials that he was asked to clean the site by a company, and an engineer was present when he was given the duty. He found a lot of garbage on the site, including the four gas cylinders. Without knowing the content of the cylinder, he moved them out from the site.
After some time, he saw two Asian workers cutting one of the cylinders. However, when the gas started leaking, they fled the scene.
Officials from the Sharjah Police and Civil Defence told the court that they were rushed to the hospital due to suffocation after inhaling the gas.
Owner of the plot, a former officer with the Dubai Police during interrogation said he had purchased the land but did not visit the site. He added that he did not know anything about the gas cylinders.
During interrogation, an official with the main contracting company said the gas cylinders did not belong to the company and they handed over the site to the sub-contracting company, for which the Egyptian accused was working.
'I just removed the cylinders'
The accused told the court that he was asked by the company to guard the site and he had seen the cylinders while cleaning.
"I just removed the cylinders from the site without knowing its content. When the police asked me about the incident, I told them the truth. I was shocked when the police asked me for my ID and then detained me," he said. Later, he was released on bail.
As per the directives from the court, the Sharjah Municipality submitted a report about the effects of inhaling chlorine gas.
The report said inhalation of the gas would cause breathing problems, cough, irritation of the throat, eyes and skin, vomiting and headache. A high level of exposure to chlorine gas could be fatal, said the report.
Almost everybody affected by the gas inhalation, sought legal action on the incident. Officials from the Sharjah Civil Defence and police and four others testified during the police investigation.
Upon hearing the judgement, the Egyptian broke down and prayed outside the court room. He told Khaleej Times that he is thankful to God and judges who brought to him justice.
The accused, told Khaleej Times that he is uneducated and didn't know the cylinders contained toxic gas.
amira@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah