A Dominican court on Thursday granted bail to two nightclub owners accused of manslaughter after a roof collapsed on hundreds of revellers, killing 236 people.
Antonio Espaillat and his sister Maribel Espaillat were arrested last week, and prosecutors had asked for them to remain in custody while awaiting trial.
They are the owners of the Jet Set club, the roof of which collapsed in the early hours of April 8 during a concert by merengue star Rubby Perez.
Perez, 69, was among the victims of the worst tragedy in the Caribbean nation in decades, as were two retired Major League Baseball players and a provincial governor.
Antonio Espaillat, a 59-year-old businessman, said afterwards that the roof of the storied venue had been leaking for years but had never been inspected by authorities.
Prosecutors accuse him and his sister of “immense irresponsibility and negligence” for failing to carry out repairs.
The Dominican Republic has no law requiring privately-owned buildings to undergo safety inspections, a state of affairs President Luis Abinader has now vowed to change.
In the early hours of Thursday, a court granted the siblings bail of 50 million pesos, nearly $842,500 dollars, each.
They are not allowed to leave the country and have to report to authorities periodically, defense attorney Miguel Valerio said after the hearing.
“If the truth eventually determines that we bear criminal responsibility, then we will accept it,” he added.
Prosecutor Wilson Camacho, decried the bail decision which he said “mocks the victims.”
A charge of involuntary manslaughter carries a penalty of three months to two years in prison.
The Espaillats are the target of dozens of lawsuits brought by victims’ relatives.
The family, which owns a media conglomerate and a restaurant as well as the Jet Set, has pledged to cooperate with the investigation.
AFP
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