Owners to be arrested

More complete information:
Qatar’s attorney general has ordered the arrest of some five people associated with Monday’s tragedy, including Villaggio mall’s owner and the owner of Gympanzee, QNA reports.

Dr. Ali Bin Al-Marri Fetais also ordered that the mall manager, the assistant manager and the assistant director of security be detained as part of the investigation.

The owner of Gympanzee is Iman Al Kuwari, whose father is Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, Qatar’s Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage.

According to Villagio’s website, the chairman is Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al-Rabban.

The mall’s manager is Tzoulios Tzouliou and the assistant manager is Rima Itani.

Doha News had received reports that Tzouliou and Itani have been in custody since Monday, but could not confirm them.

The AG has also ordered the seizure of documentation critical to the investigation, including operating licenses.

Mandi

If they were responsible in any way for the fire then they should be punished appropriately...

But remember they are innocent until proven guilty...

It's good to see the Government taking action and not trying to sweep this under the carpet!

azi, 100% Agree with you & Blood Money would be kept as an Open Option as well, as it has happened before as well in Qatar...

Good move but I thought an Al Thani owned the mall so is ultimately responsible. Innocent until proven guilty but there role must be investigated.

The investigation report, or a suitable version of it, should be publicly available when it is completed, and hopefully in multiple languages. A wake-up shock wave should start among people living in this country teaching that safety is not a luxury option. I trust that H.E the Minister of Interior will not let this tragedy pass easily.

Let us wait and see.

I am pleased to see action taking place

a good move indeed. But for the amount of culpability, let's hope there would be a fair assessment.

Lets hope they get more than a slap on the wrist. But they also need to look into the Ministry to see how they were able to get away with ignoring the safety laws. Money no doubt changed hands somewhere.

kindly provide the source

"business as usual" in Qatar whereby those with money and power are let off scot free. Justice for the children!

A good first step, let's wait for the outcome

I would like to know how this is the owner of Gympanzee fault. If she had all the approval from the ministries to open, and complied with all the regulations how can she be blamed? Shouldn't then the inspectors and those who approved her business as well be arrested?? She leased/rented her space from Villaggio, so how can she be responsible for the fact that the owners/managers of the mall cut corners and didn't ensure building safety?

Now for the others I completely agree- and hope that the owners of the mall are arrested as they are ultimately in charge of making sure all safety regulations and procedures are followed instead of just profiting from the shortcuts taken.

Great move !

well if that's the case MN- very bad indeed.

That's shocking Genesis.

As per the roads, no smoking and other laws in Qatar many see them as just recommendations or suggestions. Hopefully the culture will change.

A good move? That is just one side, are they going to arrest the other side or they are just going to use these five as scapegoats?

they should take under custody those authorized to approve the safety standards of the Mall in the first place... as far as i know, you cannot inaugurate a commercial premises until you pass the fire safety standards that is inspected by government officials...

so the appointed investigators must re analyze the situation and reach the root culprits...IMO

and who checks if the nursery has a license must be questioned: why didn't he/them check for licence before?
if they did, who forbid u from carrying on ur job, and closing it down?

Perhaps corruption has prevailed and will now be exposed.

obviously, the system as a whole may have had lapsus, and faults (wasta, bribery, ...). and maybe not all the truth will prevail, but if from now on everything changes, it's still a good achievemnet.

Speaking up and whilstle blowing is must; should start at right levels with authority, i agree with translator.

not really good to lose face on matters such as security and safety issues, especially when lives are involved.

Gympanzee initially was only opened to be a drop off area and play area which later became a full fledged Nursery. They are play areas in Malls all over the Middleast where you leave you kids and go for shopping for a few hours.

But as their Website suggests, Gympanzee was operating as a Nursery catering for kids from 6 months to 4 years. They also offered potting training etc. Even birthday parties were organised at that place.

and even big schools operating under probationary license only. Check with SEC!

Right, the authorities sanctioned a potential fire-trap, knowingly or unknowingly. Let's be fair and say, they don't know what they're doing.

they should arrest Civil Defense & Municipality officials also!

After an exhausting day, Doha News came back on-line last night at 1 am to break this news.
Mandi

Now if the nursery had no license to operate that kind of explain why the Civil defence had no ideal of its existence, which rises the other question how the *** did that happen, 19 lives families are in agony, can some body explain to them and me how that nursery was opened for such a long time without anybody noticing that….
I remember going there in 2010 and thinking are we there yet “coz the corridors was soo long and when we got there I was already put-off as it seemed like it’s the only way in and out and don’t get me started at how much they charged……
I work at a nursery where it has turned into a nightmare coz we have routine check for every ministry possible “got to a point we think it’s a plot to close the nursery and maybe it is” and to their surprise the owner of the nursery well 49% of it makes sure all is in order (a very nice Indian woman)…. My point been who is going to bother a nursery that no one knows it’s there plus have you checked who her father is “now here is a scenario…..an Indian guy comes claiming he’s from so and so ministry wanting to inspect this or that and what does he get as a reply……… “do you know who the owner is????” he who has no ideal is off-course filled in about the ownership……and since he has a family to feed so all he does is forge whatever needs to be forged and off he goes….