Cleaning firm fined over child’s death

abu dhabi — An appellate court in the Capital has reduced the fine on a cleaning company that was found guilty of causing the death of an Arab toddler, who died after inhaling pesticides sprayed in their home in the Capital to kill cockroaches.

In an earlier verdict, the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance had ordered the company to pay Dh100,000 fine for providing pest control services without a licence and another Dh30,000 for causing the death of the child. The appeals court reduced the fine to Dh50,000.

According to court documents, the girl’s father had hired the company to clean his house and also get rid of the cockroaches. After cleaning the house during the morning, workers allegedly used poisonous chemicals to kill the cockroaches in the house while the family was away. The family returned home in the evening and slept inside the house.

In the morning, the parents found the girl — who was below three years of age — dead in her bed.

The body was taken to the hospital where doctors found out that the death was caused by poisonous gas. The police launched an investigation after receiving the medical report and confirmed that the pesticide used in her home caused her death.

Further investigations also proved that the cleaning company had no licence to offer pest control services. Prosecutors had charged the owner of the company with manslaughter and illegal provision of pest control services. The company was also ordered to pay blood money to the girl’s family. The owner however challenged the sentence at the Abu Dhabi Appeals Court, which has maintained the first ruling but reduced the fines to Dh50,000 and Dh20,000. The judge also upheld the order to pay blood money to the child’s parents.