W Construction ordered to pay MVR 4.5m in losses for negligence in Jian's death

The Civil Court has ordered W Construction to pay MVR 4.5 million over the untimely death of eight-year-old Rawshan Jian in 2018.

The Civil Court issued the ruling on Tuesday, declaring that W Construction is given a period of two months starting August 31, to pay up the MVR 4,557,040.86.

The family filed a case seeking compensation for financial and mental losses and to hold W Construction vicariously liable for it.

In October 2019, the Criminal Court issued verdicts on five individuals out of the six initially charged, in Jian’s death trial. Six individuals are charged over the Bangladeshi girl’s untimely death; Indian nationals Rajjav Ali, Muthumani Ramachanduran, Gulam Mohamed and Kesharilal Chauhan as well as Moosa Hassan and Adam Shafeeg.

Charges against five out of the six were proven, W Construction’s Managing Director Shafeeq was found not guilty. Two Bangladeshi nationals were slammed with prison sentences, six years and three years respectively. Two more Bangladeshi national were slapped with fines amounting MVR 7,200.

W Construction’s Senior Site Supervisor Hassan was charged with negligence and was fined MVR 115,000.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) had concluded their investigation into the case and forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General’s office in February and the charges were raised against the six from W Construction in late February.

During the trial in March, three pled guilty to the charges against them; Ali, Ramachanduran and Chauhan.

Out of the three, Ali and Ramachandhuran are charged with criminal negligence in operating the winch lift that had caused the cement bag to tear and fall, while Chauhan is charged with failure to warn a person of a hazard. A fourth Indian national, Gulan Mahamadhu was also charged for the same offence as Chauhan.

The daughter of two Bangladeshi workers in Maldives succumbed to severe injuries attained from being crushed by a falling cement bag from a 10-storey construction site under the maintenance of W Construction, in December 2018. She died while receiving treatment at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

Her mother, Farzana had provided extensive details of the day to court.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, Farzana had revealed that they were on their way to the Immigration Office along with Jian’s sibling and father, for Jian’s student visa. After the immigration procedures the family went for tea followed by a search for a photo studio to click a few snaps of Jian for the Immigration Office. They were headed down the road near Nalahiya when little Jian told her mother that she wanted to “go to my dad, let me go”.

Jian was crushed underneath the cement bag not long after, and her father was the one who pulled her out.