A fine of half-a-million riyals (about $133,332) has been imposed on a pre-mixed concrete company held responsible for the collapse of a building in Riyadh.
An appeals court in Riyadh upheld a previous judgment against the pre-mixed concrete company for not complying with approved standards and specifications. The company was held responsible for the collapse of a building complex.
The case against the company was filed because of a complaint by a citizen to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He accused the company of supplying concrete slabs which were substandard.
On receipt of the complaint, the ministry referred the case to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution since it was a violation of the Kingdom’s anti-commercial fraud law. The case was subsequently referred to the administrative court.
Following an appeal by the respondent, a final judgment was upheld by the appeals court in Riyadh which imposed strict penalties on the company. The penalty included a fine of half-a-million riyals and the publication at the company’s expense of the verdict in two local newspapers.
The judgment also ordered the company to pay compensation for the damages sustained by the owner of the building who was the plaintiff in the case.
The ministry stressed that it would not tolerate actions which endanger human life and said that it would not hesitate to impose the maximum penalty on violators according to the Kingdom’s rules and regulations.
The ministry also called on members of the public to call 1900 with any complaints pertaining to construction violations.
Article II of the Anti-Fraud Law states that if a product is considered fraudulent, that means it has been altered or tampered with in any way, whether in its substance, nature, kind, type, shape, components, features, requirements, characteristics, origin data (manufacturing country) or quantity in terms of weight, measure, measurement, number, capacity, caliber or validity date.
By Mohammed Rasooldeen
