Court upholds verdict in food poisoning case

Dubai: Dubai's highest court on Monday ruled out any foul play in the case of two French children who died of food poisoning, and held three defendants liable for their deaths.

The Dubai Cassation Court convicted the defendants — a doctor, a cook and a supervisor — of being responsible for the deaths of five-year-old Nathan D'Souza and his seven-year-old sister, Chelsea. They died of food poisoning after eating at The Lotus Garden Restaurant in 2009.

The Appeal Court had earlier fined the 46-year-old Iraqi doctor, I.T., the 25-year-old Nepalese cook, T.R., and a 33-year-old Filipino supervisor, E.S., Dh20,000 each and handed them six-month suspended jail sentences.

The Appeal Court also ordered them to jointly pay Dh400,000 in blood money to the children's parents.

The three accused appealed the verdict before the Cassation Court seeking acquittal.

"The court has rejected the defendants' appeals and upheld the lower verdict," said Presiding Judge Mohammad Nabil Riyadh upon pronouncing yesterday's judgment in courtroom 22.

Monday's judgment, which has become irrevocable, rules out any possibility of suspected foul play in the case.

The Appeal Court had acquitted The Lotus Garden [where the children had their meal] of any liability in the case.

According to the Penal Law, if the defendants repeat the same crime within three years, then they will have to serve the six-month jail sentence.

The defendants pleaded not guilty and denied the charge of being responsible for the deaths of Nathan and Chelsea.

I.T.'s lawyer Mohammad Al Suwaidi contended before the Cassation Court that his client prescribed the required medication before she discharged the two children from the hospital.

Al Suwaidi argued: "The forensic doctor who carried out the autopsy confirmed that there was Lidocaine toxicity in the children's bodies. Lidocaine is a form of anaesthetic. The medical reports from the two hospitals where the children were admitted confirmed that they were not given Lidocaine… Who gave them Lidocaine? This question has got to be answered."

The doctor's lawyer argued that the medical committee that looked into the case did not hear his client's statement. He argued that he suspected that there was foul play and that someone gave the Lidocaine to the children.

Al Suwaidi earlier told Gulf News that the blood money and fines were paid.

Prosecutors said the cook and the supervisor were charged with violating the public health requirements of Dubai Municipality through unhygienic practices in preserving food, which led to bacterial contamination.

The doctor was charged with negligence in providing medical care to the children when they were admitted to the hospital.

Meanwhile, advocate Hussain Al Bannai, who defended T.R. and E.S., argued before the appeal court that according to Dubai Municipality's report more than 120 customers who ate at the same restaurant did not suffer any poisoning.

Al Bannai contended: "There is no connection between their food poisoning and what they ate from the restaurant. A Hamburg medical report confirmed that the children's blood didn't contain any bacterial poisoning."