The owners of the Chisinau café “La Soacra”, where a gas cylinder explosion this January claimed four lives and injured another nine persons, will stand trial. The Chisinau Prosecutor’s Office finished the investigation into this case. Also, three representatives of the inspection bodies were arrested on charges of passive corruption and abuse of power, IPN reports.
Acting deputy prosecutor of Chisinau municipality Valeriu Bodean told a news conference that the café’s manager is accused of violation of the labor protection rules and security rules in areas facing dangers of explosion. He faces up to 10 years in jail. His wife is liable to up to six years behind bars for violation of the labor protection rules.
Prosecutor of the Chisinau Prosecutor’s Office Vladislav Guzic said that when being questioned, the woman admitted her blame, while her husband accepted his guilt only partially and assumed responsibility for paying damage to the victims of the blast. According to the information presented by the National Health Insurance Company, the victims were paid over 200,000 lei in compensation and the sum is not yet final.
Three of the victims filed civil lawsuits and ask 2 million lei in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage.
Simultaneously, the prosecutors started three criminal cases over passive corruption and abuse of power with serious consequences. Among the suspects are the senior inspector of the Chisinau General Trade Division, head of the Anti-Fire Division of the Centru Rescuers and Firefighters Division and deputy sanitarian of the Chisinau Public Health Center.
The three were placed under arrest for 72 hours. They face fines of up to 200,000 lei, five to ten years in prison and ban on holding public posts for a period of up to 15 years.
