A Saudi citizen whose brother suffered multiple spine fractures and head injuries when a statue collapsed on him along Jeddah’s waterfront last week has filed a lawsuit against the municipality, demanding SR3 million in compensatory damages.
Mazen Al-Samkery says the accident is a result of negligence in maintenance works, which lead the statue to collapse on his brother, Ahmad, and his niece, Rimas.
“The Civil Defense had instructed the Jeddah Municipality to investigate the incident, but they neglected the request, so I visited a public advocate appointed by the government to sue them for negligence,” he said. “The lawsuit also demands treatment expenses for my brother and calls for legal action against parties responsible for failure to maintain the site.”
“The statue, made in 1409, was visibly rusty due to poor maintenance and not because of the sandstorm that hit Jeddah last Friday,” said Mazen.
“We have not received any letter from the Civil Defense on this issue,” said Abdulaziz Al-Ghamdi, Jeddah Municipality spokesman. “I challenge him to quote a date and number for this letter.”
“We have referred the case to the city’s landscaping department to further investigate with the contractor and identify the reason behind the building’s collapse,” he said. “The results of the investigation will be submitted to officials at the municipality.”
Saudi citizen sues Jeddah Municipality for SR3m
