Is the owner of that collapsed garment factory in Bangladesh a mass murderer?

[reformist2]

It may sound outrageous to some, but I'm not so sure. Maybe it's time we started holding capitalists personally responsible for the harm they do when they "cut corners," and thereby directly cause people - in this case hundreds - to die.

Collapsed building owner arrested near border with India as death toll climbs to 377

At least 377 people are confirmed to have died in the collapse of the 8-story building on Wednesday. Three of its floors were built illegally. The death toll is expected to rise but it is already the deadliest tragedy to hit Bangladesh’s garment industry, which is worth $20 billion annually and is a mainstay of the economy. The collapse and previous disasters in garment factories have focused attention on the poor working conditions of workers who toil for as little as $38 a month to produce clothing for top international brands...

A small-time politician from the ruling party, Rana had been on the run since Wednesday. He last appeared in public in front of his Rana Plaza on Tuesday after huge cracks appeared in the building. However, he assured tenants, including five garment factories, that the building was safe.

A bank and some shops on the first floor shut their premises on Wednesday after police ordered an evacuation, but managers of the garment factories on the upper floor told workers to continue their shifts.

Hours later, Rana Plaza was reduced to rubble, crushing most victims under massive blocks of concrete and mortar. A garment manufacturers’ group said the factories in the building employed 3,122 workers, but it was not clear how many were inside it when it collapsed. About 2,500 survivors have been accounted for.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/bangladesh-rescuers-say-voices-of-survivors-getting-weaker-as-death-toll-reaches-359/2013/04/27/8126e11e-afb5-11e2-b59e-adb43da03a8a_story.html

[dipsydoodle]

1. Manslaughter

not murder.

[DonViejo]

2. Shouldn't the contractor/builder be held accountable also? nt

[reformist2]

3. Commondreams: 'More Industrial Mass Murder'

'More Industrial Mass Murder' as Scores Dead in Bangladesh Factory Collapse

Workers told to enter building despite known cracks in structure

https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/04/24-4