Verdict issued in accident resulting in 3 deaths during work in a confined space!

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Verdict issued in accident resulting in 3 deaths during work in a confined space! China Chemical Safety Association, published on August 16, 2022, at 17:47 in Beijing. Recently, the People’s Court of Dangshan County, Anhui Province, issued the criminal judgment with case number (2022) Wan1321 Xing Chu 258: The defendant, Mr. Xie, was born on March 28, 1975, in Dangshan County, Anhui Province. He has a junior high school education level and is a shareholder of Dangshan JunTong Pipeline Cleaning Co., Ltd. His registered residence is in the High-Speed Railway New Area of Dangshan County, while he lives in Dangshan County itself. On August 8, 2021, he was placed under residential surveillance in ***, Dangshan County, on suspicion of committing the crime of serious responsibility accidents. As established through the trial, on August 3, 2021, a malfunction occurred at the sewage lift pump station of Dangshan Zhengyuan Sewage Treatment Plant (hereinafter referred to as the Technology Pump Station), which is located on the west side of Room XX in the Dangshan County Economic Development Zone, Suzhou. After Jiang, the deputy director of Dangshan Zhengyuan Sewage Treatment Plant, reported the situation to Zhao, the deputy director of the Dangshan County Urban Management Bureau, and obtained his approval, Jiang reached an oral agreement with Xie regarding the task of clearing debris from the Technology Pump Station, at a cost of 8,000 yuan. At around 6 a.m. on August 6, 2021, without going through the necessary approval procedures for working in confined spaces, Xie organized workers such as Shi, Sun, and Liu to go to the technology pump station to carry out dredging work. Upon arriving at the site, the workers first opened the manhole covers to allow natural ventilation. At around 8:19, Sun entered the intake gate well of the pump station wearing a waterproof coat (without taking any other protective measures) to carry out work there. At around 8:21, Sun called for help from inside the well; the people above instructed him to climb up quickly. As Sun approached the mouth of the well, he lost the strength to continue climbing and fell into the sewage. Subsequently, Shi and Liu went down into the well to rescue people without wearing any personal protective equipment, and both lost consciousness shortly after and fell into the sewage. Later, Shi, Sun, and Liu were rescued by firefighters, police, medical staff, and others, but died despite efforts to save them. According to the appraisal conducted by Anhui Yibenzhi Forensic Appraisal Institute, the cause of death for all three victims was death due to lack of oxygen and poisoning by toxic gases in the well. According to the investigation conducted by the Anhui Provincial Emergency Management Department, the defendant Xie Moumou bears direct managerial responsibility for the occurrence of this accident. >>Investigation report on the hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident that occurred during confined-space work in Suzhou, Anhui on August 6 released. On August 8, 2021, the defendant Xie was summoned to the police station by phone and later confessed to the aforementioned criminal acts truthfully. It was further ascertained that after the incident, the defendant Xie compensated the families of the three victims for their economic losses and obtained their forgiveness. The court held that the defendant, Xie, violated the relevant safety management regulations during his work, which led to a serious accident resulting in three deaths; he bore primary responsibility for the accident, and the circumstances were particularly severe. His actions constituted the crime of causing a major accident through negligence, and he should be punished in accordance with the law. The charges brought by the public prosecution authority are substantiated. The defendant carried out work in confined spaces without legally obtaining the required safety permits, and failed to provide safety protective equipment for the workers; therefore, he should be punished more severely. Given that the defendant turned himself in and voluntarily pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, a lighter sentence was imposed on him in accordance with the law ； After the incident, the defendant actively participated in rescuing the victim, voluntarily compensated the victim for the economic losses incurred, and obtained the victim’s forgiveness, which may warrant a lighter sentence as a consideration. The defense’s argument in this regard is valid and is accepted by this court; the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation is appropriate. Based on the facts of the crime committed by the defendant Xie, the nature of the crime, the circumstances surrounding it, and the degree of harm it caused to society, in accordance with Article 134, Paragraph 1; Article 67, Paragraph 1; Article 61; Article 72, Paragraph 1; Articles 73, Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, and Items (1) of Paragraph 1, Item (1) of Paragraph 12, and Item (1) of Paragraph 13 of the Interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases Involving Threats to Production Safety, the judgment is as follows: The defendant Xie is found guilty of the crime of serious responsibility accident and is sentenced to three years in prison, with a suspension of execution for four years.