Manager held liable for tenant’s death in villa fire

Defendant liable for causing fire by overloading power switchboard

Legal and Court Correspondent

The Cassation Court of Dubai has upheld the oneyear suspended jail sentence of a manager for causing the death of a tenant in a fire at a villa following an electrical short circuit.

The Indian manager was found to have restructured a villa in Al Rafaa and made smaller wooden compartments to accommodate many renters and overloaded the switchboard with poor and unsafe electrical installations, according to records, that was the fire’s main cause in April 2016.

Most of the renters rushed out to safety when the fire started except for an Indian tenant who died of burns. The report of the Dubai Police’s medical examiner said a second tenant suffered burns and a fractured spine and leg when he fell from a steep height.

The Dubai Misdemeanours Court convicted the Emirati and the Indian suspects of causing the accidental death and handed them a one-year suspended jail term. They were also ordered to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to the victim’s parents. The suspects were also fined Dh2,000 each.

The duo challenged the judgement before the Appeal Court. The Emirati businessman told the appellate court that he was not aware that the Indian had restructured the villa in an illegal manner and crowded the property with tenants. The Appeal Court acquitted the Emirati and upheld the judgement against the Indian. The defendant appealed this judgement before the Cassation Court which dismissed his appeal.