Home / Crime and Justice / Asbestos Ignored: Firms Fined, Manager Jailed
Asbestos Ignored: Firms Fined, Manager Jailed
11 Mar
Summary
- Two companies and a site manager faced penalties for asbestos demolition work.
- Asbestos was known to be present before demolition work commenced.
- Fines totaled over £88,000, with one manager receiving a suspended jail term.
Demolition work proceeded despite the known presence of asbestos at a site on Greenheath Road in Cannock, Staffordshire, leading to significant penalties for involved parties. Sohan Group Ltd, the client, was fined £74,900 and ordered to pay £3,658.14 in costs for breaching construction regulations. They had discovered asbestos prior to work but shared this information with the demolition firm, Maize Metals Ltd, which continued the project.
Maize Metals Ltd, based in West Bromwich, was fined £13,400 and ordered to pay £1,359.51 in costs for also breaching construction regulations. The project lacked a principal contractor to manage it. Subsequently, Disa Properties Ltd, represented by Ali Raza Baig, was appointed for the asbestos clear-up, but neither held the necessary license. Baig received a suspended 26-week prison sentence, a curfew, and a five-year directorship ban, along with £5,899 in costs, for failing to manage the asbestos removal properly.
