Saudi Bin Ladin Group fined over 2015 crane collapse

Agencies | Riyadh                                         

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

A criminal court has imposed a $5.3 million fine on the Saudi Bin Ladin Group and sentenced seven people to prison over the deadly collapse of a crane ahead of the 2015 hajj pilgrimage, a leading Saudi daily reported.

More than 100 people were killed in the incident. Buffetted by strong winds, the 1,350-ton crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque that houses Islam’s holiest site, the Holy Kaaba, bringing down slabs of concrete on worshippers below.

The Okaz daily reported on Tuesday that the company was fined 20 million Saudi riyals, or about $5.3 million, for negligence and violation of safety regulations. Three defendants were sentenced to six months in jail and fined 30,000 riyals ($8,000) and another four were sentenced to three months and fined 15,000 riyals (about $4,000). Okaz did not report their names or nationalities.

The court ruled that the company is not required to pay blood money to the families of those killed, a traditional form of restitution in the conservative kingdom.

The Saudi Binladin Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.