An Israeli judge sentenced a construction engineer to four years in jail today, for designing the “Pal Kal” method of construction in the Versaille Wedding Hall in Yerushalayim. The design proved to be deadly when it collapsed during a wedding in 2001 tragically killing 23 guests R”L. The engineer claims he will appeal the sentence – stating that his design was not what caused it to collapse. More than 300 people were injured in what was then called Israels’ worst civil disaster.
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3 Responses
Wow, only four years in jail?
I remember the incident well. The sirens from the ambulances were screaming through the night.
I had been at another chasunah in Talpiot 2 weeks before, in another venue. The bochurim were jumping up and down to Chaim Dovid’s “Ya Ma Ma”, and the entire floor was shaking. I recall being frightened enough to leave the dance floor.
What do you mean only four years? I don’t think you would want to spend more than four days in jail. I am sure the engineer is a fellow yid.
There have been cases before where the engineering design was flawless but the contractors used the cheapest and lowest quality materials to build (remember the maccabi bridge?). This is especially true when the wedding hall owners try to do it on the cheap to save money or get it up quickly.
Chopnik: Good points, and of course I would not want to spend a minute in Prison. However (assuming he is guilty of faulty design), a lesson needs to be made so that fellow engineers will dot every I and cross every T to make sure that their designs are safe for the masses.