Three referred to prosecution in Sharjah school pesticide case
High dosage of pesticide used in school, says report by Sharjah Municipality
Sharjah: Three people, including two staff members of a school and one employee of a pest control company, have been referred to public prosecution in connection with the case in which 23 people, were hospitalised after being exposed to pesticides on January 29.
Sharjah Police said on Wednesday that they have completed their investigation into the case and referred it to public prosecution.
Major General Saif Ziri Al Shamsi, Commander-in-chief of Sharjah Police, said the suspects have been charged with negligence and putting people’s lives in danger.
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Sharjah Municipality and forensic reports, meanwhile, showed that the company used licensed pesticide but the dosage was high. The school, it was found, allowed students to come in before 24 hours of using the pesticide. Moreover, the pest control had been done in the middle of the week, instead of the weekend.
On January 29, 23 people, including students and teachers, were hospitalised after being exposed to pesticides at the Beaconhouse Al Khaleej International School in the Al Azra area of Sharjah. A total of 477 people were evacuated by emergency response teams. The school was closed for the rest of the day and those not in need of medical attention were sent home.
The pest control had been undertaken to check mosquitoes, according to the police.
Of those who had taken ill, 17 pupils aged between six and 10 years were admitted to Al Qassimi Hospital, said Dr Khalid Khalfan Bin Sabt, paediatric surgery consultant and deputy technical director at the hospital.
Six cases were sent to Kuwait Hospital. They included five teachers and one 13-year-old pupil, according to Dr Eisa Al Moa’almi, head of the emergency department at Kuwait Hospital. All of them received treatment and were later discharged.