Three people working for a trading company in Qatar have been handed six-month jail terms following the deaths of four men who were cleaning a septic tank last year, Gulf Times reports.

The three defendants were charged with negligence and failing to abide by safety and security rules, and found guilty in part for not rescuing the workers they hired to clean the tank, the newspaper said.

The deceased were Indian expats working at a labor camp in Shahaniya. In October, they were subcontracted to clean a septic tank and suffocated after inhaling toxic fumes while inside.

An Indian embassy official identified the men as Faisal, 30; Ishaq, 26; Muneer, 20; and Mohamed, 57. All were single and from the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Safety

The court also reportedly ordered the trading company, which was not named, to pay a QR200,000 fine, and additionally, QR200,000 in blood money to the relatives of each of the deceased.

Workplace safety has been a matter of growing concern in Qatar, where injuries from building collapses, falls from heights and other construction-related incidents are not uncommon.

The country has been working to mitigate some of these conditions by increasing site inspectors and improving standards, as it faces intense international scrutiny ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

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