Pinay, 2 others get jail terms for school bus death in UAE

A Filipina and two others were sentenced to three years in jail for the death of a four-year-old girl in a school bus in Abu Dhabi last October.
 
The Abu Dhabi Court of Misdemeanor also imposed fines on those found guilty in the death of four-year-old Nizahaa Ala’a, UAE news site Gulf News reported Sunday.
 
Sentenced to three years in jail and fined Dh20,000 (P240,918) each for negligence were the Filipina bus attendant, the Pakistani bus driver, and the Lebanese school employee.
 
They may also have to pay blood money for the child’s death. However, the verdict is subject to appeal.
 
The report said the closure order on Al Worood Academy Private School still stands, with the school facing a fine of Dh150,000.
 
It said the amount is for causing the wrongful death of the child and endangerment of schoolchildren on board its buses.
 
Investigation showed the child was found dead in her school bus, some three hours after the vehicle had reached the school, last October.
 
The Filipina bus attendant admitted in court that she failed to thoroughly check the bus, including its back seats, before she ordered the driver to lock the vehicle.
 
No lawyer represented the driver and bus attendant at court.

The two have been imprisoned since the incident. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

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