Four receive suspended sentences over worker's death

Man killed when ceramic block fell five floors and hit him on the head.

DUBAI // Four men received a one-year suspended prison sentence in the death of a 40-year-old worker killed instantly when a huge block of ceramic fell on his head.

The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours also fined two Pakistani men, MQ, 26, a safety officer, and SM, 22, construction worker; an Indian supervisor, SS, 57; and a Palestinian civil engineer EA, 45, Dh1,000 for unintentionally causing the death of RN, an Indian, on November 10, 2010. They must also pay blood money to his family.

Prosecutors said they failed to provide necessary safety measures.

EA, a project manager at the Manhattan project at Jumeirah, told prosecutors RN was working on the third floor when the block fell from the eighth floor about 9am.

"We called police and an ambulance, but the man had already been dead," EA said.

He said safety procedures were followed. But while SM was unpacking the blocks, one slipped and fell through a gap in the protective railing.

SM told prosecutors the ceramic boxes were dangerously left on a pile of dirt. Records show there were seven boxes, each containing four blocks.

The verdict remains subject to appeal.