Saleh Al-Eliyani Okaz/Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — The father of a young man who was electrocuted to death in Dammam after he touched an exposed lighting pole while playing football with his friends in Ramadan is holding the local municipality responsible over the incident. A committee formed to investigate the death of Ali Al-Salem, who died on the sea front, said the maintenance contractor was responsible. The contractor neglected safety procedures when performing maintenance work on lighting poles, the committee said. In addition, the contracting company's owner allegedly did not cooperate with the committee. The victim's father, however, said the Eastern Province municipality and the Saudi Electric Company did not do enough to monitor the contractor's work and were negligent. The family lawyer said legal action would be taken against the municipality. Sources told Okaz there were also conflicting reports from the contractor's technician and engineer. The technician claimed he performed maintenance work on the pole one month before Al-Salem's death and one day after and did not find any problems. The engineer, however, said the technician informed him that he inspected the pole only after his death once he was notified by the municipality. The technician, he added, did not find any problem and disconnected the power from the pole. The family's lawyer Husam Allababidi said the case would resume in court, while the municipality would be asked to bear responsibility. He added a year ago the municipality received a letter from a citizen warning them electric poles on the sea front were poorly maintained. The municipality completely ignored that letter, he claimed. He said the municipality is also responsible for the death of a child in similar circumstances a year ago in Ras Tannurah.
