Five people, including engineers and supervisors, have received
prison sentences for their roles in a fatal accident at a Beijing
construction site that killed eight workers.
The Beijing First Intermediate People's court said the accident
on Sept. 5, 2005 was caused by the malpractice of three people from
the China 22nd Metallurgical Construction Company and two project
supervisors from Beijing Xidi Global Engineering Consulting Co.
Ltd.
Li Lejun, 56, the chief engineer of the project, was accused of
ordering workers to build a scaffolding based on faulty blueprint
that were never approved. His colleagues, 30-year-old engineer Yang
Guojun and 46-year-old manager Hu Gangcheng were also given jail
terms.
The Beijing court jailed Li for four years, Yang and Hu were
both sentenced to three years and six months.
The two supervisors were sentenced to three years with a
three-year reprieve.
The five turned themselves in on Sept. 27 2005 after receiving
telephone calls from police.
The accident occurred in downtown Xidan when a scaffolding
collapsed from a height of about 20 meters while concrete was being
poured, killing eight workers and injuring 22 others.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2007)