London Business Owner Caused His Employee’s Death When He Bypassed the Electricity Meter
Romanian born Sandu Laurentiu-Sava was tragically killed when showering at the dilapidated premises owned by his boss in London’s East end.
40 year old Sandu lived in the cramped accommodation with five other men, and worked in the adjacent car wash under the railway arches by Bethnal Green station. Both the car wash and accommodation were owned by the deceitful business owner, Shaip Nimani, who underpaid his staff and subjected them to exceptionally sub-standard work and living conditions.
Eye-Wateringly Dangerous Conditions
Nimani exposed his employees to extremely dangerous living and working conditions when he bypassed the electricity meter, which led to Sandu’s untimely death. The men lived in absolute “squalor”, which was said to be rat infested, wet and filthy.
The underhand businessman had bypassed the electricity meter at the premises to avoid paying electricity bills – putting his staff, customers and neighbouring properties under the railway arches at serious risk.
The premises themselves were a serious health and safety risk, and were also found to be badly wired, with lots of dangerously overloaded extension leads, and fuses that had been tampered with to stop them blowing.
A Ticking Time Bomb
Sandu and his co-workers repeatedly felt electric shocks when showering in the accommodation but believed that this was “the norm”. The earth connection on the electric shower had been removed. This lead to Sandu’s fatal electrocution when he took a shower late one evening.
The unsuspecting victim collapsed in the dirty shower and died just a few hours later in hospital.
Prison Sentence and £40,000 Fines
The judge declared that Sandu’s death was a direct result of Nimani’s gross negligence, and that he was responsible for his death by completely ignoring the health and safety of his employees and tenants.
Nimani was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to a four-year prison sentence in 2017. He was made to pay £20,000 in compensation to the victim’s family, as well as an additional £20,000 fine, and was banned from being a company director for 10 years.
The court hearing exclaimed the severity of the risk posed when Nimani bypassed the electricity meter to steal electricity. Prosecutor William Boyce QC told the court that “the conditions in the residential block were ones of almost abject squalor and extreme danger to life. The electrical systems at the car wash were in an appalling condition”.
An Avoidable Tragedy
Sandu’s unexpected death devastated his family who described him as a kind and loving family-orientated man. He was in regular contact with his mother in Romania and would always make the time to help anyone that needed it. On top of the grief, his family were hit with a further blow when they had to pay thousands of pounds to repatriate his body to Romania.
Sadly, this fatality could’ve been easily avoided. Nimani thoughtlessly put his own greed first, and completely disregarded the wellbeing of the people that he should have done more to protect.
This tragedy could have prevented.
Speak Up About Electricity Theft
Unfortunately people mess with electricity meters up and down the UK, and by doing so put the lives of innocent, vulnerable people at risk.
If you think that someone may be stealing electricity you can report it to Stay Energy Safe. Your report will be 100% anonymous – it cannot and will not be traced to you.