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A British woman has been given a suspended prison sentence after her neighbour died after being treated with a bedbug repellent she used in her own flat. The highly toxic gas leaked into the victim's home on her 11th birthday.
Victim Fatiha Sabrine died in December 2021 in a flat in east London. Her neighbour Jesmin Akter, 34, had recently treated her flat with aluminium phosphide, a substance often used as a pesticide to control pests.
The pesticide had been imported illegally from Italy by the neighbor. She had spread the tablets around her house and left them with her family for 24 hours, but had neglected to read the instructions.
Toxic gas
The judge has now sentenced her to two years in prison, suspended. She must also perform 150 hours of unpaid community work. The judge took into account in sentencing that the suspect did not intend to do so. “I understand that you are burdened with guilt.”
The toxic gas, called phosphine or hydrogen phosphorus, was created when aluminum phosphorus chemically reacted with the humid air in the house. This traveled to the victim's apartment. According to prosecutors, that amounted to “between 2.5 and 26 times the lethal dose” of the gas.
Fatiha woke up that night vomiting. Emergency services were called, but after treatment they left again. Later that night, the girl stopped breathing and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
A second girl who lived in the apartment was also hospitalized, but survived.
Hundreds of lives are at risk
The sentencing judge placed part of the blame on the owner. According to her, he had previously failed to adequately combat the pest problem. But she also blamed Akter for transporting the illegal substance on the plane: “This could have led to a disaster and put the lives of hundreds of people on board at risk if the packaging had been damaged.”
The girl's father told the court he was “heartbroken”. He described his daughter as “a wonderful, intelligent girl who was friends with everyone”.
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