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TWO men have been jailed at Manchester Crown Court for renting out flats that Fire Service investigators described as 'death-traps'.
Shahbaz Fazal, 31, also known as Mohammed Shahbaz Khan, of Hale Road, Hale, pleaded guilty to nine offences brought by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) at an earlier hearing and was sentenced to three months imprisonment on Tuesday (October 18).
Israr Fazal, 55, - also known as Ihsan Perveen - of Brooks Drive, Hale Barns, who helped his son in the running of the eight first floor flats on Stockport Road, Longsight, as well as a cash and carry shop on the ground floor, also received three months imprisonment after also pleading guilty at the earlier hearing to six offences.
Both men were also ordered to pay £8,975 costs.
Prosecuting for the Fire Service, Mr Joseph Hart, explained to the court, that there was a systematic failure to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, failure to ensure escape routes could be used quickly and as safely as possible and failure to co-operate with officers carrying out their lawful duty.
Prohibition notices were issued by the Fire Service to prevent use of the flats and the shop until the dangerous conditions were improved. These were ignored and both men were convicted of failing to comply with them. Further offences, under the Bail Act, occurred after the men turned up late at court back in June.
Speaking after the sentencing, Peter O'Reilly, Director of Prevention and Protection at GMFRS, said: "In blatantly disregarding their duties and legal obligations as landlords, these two men have been irresponsible and reckless in the extreme.
"There was no means of raising the alarm if a fire started in these properties and, even if someone had been alerted to a fire early on, their escape route would have been blocked by refuse and discarded furniture.
"Badly maintained electrical systems and serious structural defects meant that, if a fire had broken out, the chances of survival for any of the residents - which were families with young children - would have been extremely low.
"It is a fair comment to use the term 'death-trap' in relation to the upkeep of these premises. The fact that both Israr and Mohammed Shabaz deliberately ignored attempts to make these flats safe and mislead the authorities underlines the contempt they had for the law and their legal responsibilities."
