Foundation Engineering Network News: After investigation and public prosecution by the Badong County People's Procuratorate in Hubei Province, the court recently issued a first-instance verdict against four responsible persons for a collapse accident at the Zhuoyue Plaza construction site in the county: Liu, former deputy director of the county's Urban Management Bureau and former head of the Urban Construction Inspection Brigade, was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve on combined charges of dereliction of duty and bribery; Huang, former technical director of the county's Xingye Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., was sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year reprieve for the crime of major responsibility accident; Xu, former manager of the county's Guohua Labor Service Company, and Zeng, former construction director of the Zhuoyue Plaza project, were convicted of the crime of major responsibility accident and exempted from criminal punishment.

At 15:30 on November 2, 2012, a collapse accident occurred at the Zhuoyue Plaza construction site on Beijing Avenue in Xinling Town, Badong County, causing direct economic losses of over 6.89 million yuan, but fortunately no casualties. Later, the accident investigation team determined that the direct causes of the accident were illegal construction and illegal command by the construction unit, Badong County Xingye Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.; engineering technical indicators not conforming to actual conditions; and insufficient safety level in the design of slope protection works.

The Badong County Procuratorate alleged that the defendant Liu, knowing that the Zhuoyue Plaza construction project had illegal and non-compliant behaviors, only issued a decision to stop construction to the project department on the grounds of incomplete planning procedures, but did not take corresponding measures to eliminate safety hazards as required, leading to the collapse accident. His behavior was suspected of dereliction of duty. In addition, from April 2011 to December 2012, Liu accepted bribes totaling 36,000 yuan from others on six occasions during comprehensive urban management enforcement, seeking benefits for others, and his behavior was suspected of bribery.

During the project construction, the defendant Huang violated construction technical requirements, arbitrarily directed construction personnel to carry out illegal construction, and bore direct management responsibility for the accident. His behavior was suspected of the crime of major responsibility accident.

The defendant Xu, knowing that his company did not have the corresponding construction qualification, undertook the pile foundation project of Zhuoyue Plaza beyond the qualification scope and subcontracted the project to others for construction; during the construction process, he did not construct according to the design plan, and he himself never went to the site for construction management and inspection, bearing leadership and management responsibility for the accident. His behavior was suspected of the crime of major responsibility accident.

The defendant Zeng, as the first responsible person for construction safety management, not only failed to promptly eliminate safety hazards when cracks were found at the top of the support piles, but also violated safety management regulations during construction, bearing leadership and management responsibility for the accident. His behavior was suspected of the crime of major responsibility accident.

The Badong County Court adopted the procuratorate's allegations against the above defendants. Given that the defendant Liu had surrendered, all four defendants truthfully confessed their crimes, sincerely repented, and had circumstances for discretionary lighter punishment; at the same time, given that the criminal circumstances of the defendants Xu and Zeng were significantly minor, the court made the above judgment.