Exactly 200 days have passed since the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development asked on social media: “When will the Municipality of Varna do its job?”. The question was prompted by a child receiving an electric shock from a lamp post at a playground in the “Mladost” district in late August last year.
We continue to monitor the case because it directly affects the structure and safety of our urban environment. And it is related to the maturity of our civil society, which must demand not only answers, but also responsibility from the institutions.
“After the incident, an inspection was carried out of the pole, which is believed to have caused the electric shock. It was without voltage on the body.” This is clear from the documents attached to the prosecutor’s file. A measurement of electrical voltage was carried out on the housings of all poles around playgrounds in the Mladost region, and no voltage was detected on it either. About 20 meters from the indicated pole, a broken junction box was found, which was powered by voltage and was secured that same evening, the Varna District Prosecutor’s Office reported, in response to a question from Ecovarna.info regarding the progress of the investigation.
During the prosecutor’s review, it was determined that the child’s “traumatic injuries” and “temporary health disorder” constitute minor bodily harm under Article 130, Paragraph 1 of the Penal Code. The supervising prosecutor issued a refusal to initiate pre-trial proceedings, stating that “no intentional conduct by a third party was established as the cause of the traumatic injuries.” Furthermore, the District Prosecutor’s Office concluded that causing minor bodily harm through negligence does not constitute a criminal offense under the Penal Code. For it to be considered a crime, intermediate or severe bodily harm must be present.
The child’s parents are convinced that someone along the chain failed to do their job and are considering seeking justice through the courts.
On August 21 last year, 12-year-old Dimitar got lucky, according to doctors, and escaped with a burn on his palm and a shock after being electrocuted while playing on a playground next to block 115 in the Mladost district. After a few days in hospital, he was discharged, and the prosecutor’s office took action itself due to media reports on the case.
“Mitko was lucky, but other children may not be. This is criminal negligence. Someone should say ‘The emperor has no clothes’ and force these people to do their jobs,” – said then Maria Ivanova, the mother of the injured child. Today, the child’s family is considering filing a private lawsuit against the Municipality of Varna.
