Parents urge court to hold MoH accountable for children’s death

The High Appeals Court will hear on September 9, 2018, the appeal filed by the parents of two children who reportedly died after consuming bacteria-infected water. The children, aged 5 and 11 years, died after drinking water which carried a deadly germ, namely Chromobacter Violaceum, according to court documents.

The parents of the children blamed the company as well as the Ministry of Health for failing to inspect the tanks of the former to ensure they remained clean. Although, the initial verdict ruled in their favour as the High Civil Court ordered for them to be compensated BD80,000 by the water company, the parents challenged it because it didn’t hold the Ministry of Health accountable for the children’s death.

The parents’ lawyer Rabab Al Orayidh said that the High Civil Court decided to clear the Ministry of Health because the evidence didn’t include any information to convict it. “However, the ministry didn’t perform its duty to monitor the activities of the water company, especially since it is responsible for granting the licence to the company to sell drinking water,” she said.

“The ministry didn’t make any visits to check the tanks of the company since 2012,” she added. Lawyer Al Orayidh earlier said that the germ had caused cardiac arrest to the children after three weeks of drinking the water.