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CTV families seeking legal advice over police decision

Author
NZ Newswire,
Publish Date
Wed, 6 Dec 2017, 2:40PM
The families are unhappy with the police decision. (Photo / NZ Herald)
The families are unhappy with the police decision. (Photo / NZ Herald)

CTV families seeking legal advice over police decision

Author
NZ Newswire,
Publish Date
Wed, 6 Dec 2017, 2:40PM


The families of those who died in the CTV building collapse during the Christchurch earthquake seven years ago want to see someone held accountable for their loved ones deaths.

This comes after police announced their decision last week that they did not have enough evidence to prosecute anyone.

Maan Alkaisi, who lost his wife in the collapse, says the police decision is morally and ethically unjustified and the families are now receiving legal advice to challenge it.

"It is not justice and does not hold anyone accountable for those who died," he said.

"The families will not be silenced by this unfair decision and will continue to stand up for what is right. We will never give up the fight until justice is done.

"(The decision) is simply offensive and undermines the principles and integrity of the New Zealand justice system," Mr Alkaisi said.

The families believe the matter should have gone to trial.

They will also be requesting a meeting with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

The decision not to lay charges comes after a $1.18 million criminal investigation which began in August, 2014.

Police investigated potential charges of negligent manslaughter against engineers Alan Reay and David Harding, who were responsible for the CTV building's design in the 1980s.

An engineering report in 2014 identified a number of significant deficiencies in the building's design.

Police say legal opinions and police recommendation suggested they were unlikely to get a conviction.

The six-storey building collapsed and caught fire after the magnitude 6.3 quake struck on February 22, 2011, killing 115 people inside, including 65 foreign students.

The families will hold a peaceful protect in Latimer Square, Christchurch, on Sunday.

CTV building collapse: a timeline

* 1986: Permit issued for CTV Building in Christchurch.
* 1991: Steel bars installed to deal with connection issues.
* 1987: Report identifies "a vital area of non-compliance in the connection of the floors to the north wall complex".
* 1991: Steel bars installed to deal with connection issues.
* 2008: Kings Language School leases the fourth floor of the building.
* Dec 27, 2010: After the city is shaken by an earthquake, the CTV building is again inspected and given a green sticker.
* Feb 22, 2011: the six-storey building crumples and catches fire within seconds of a major earthquake, killing 115 people, including 64 foreign students.
* 2012: The CTV building's collapse is one of several investigated by the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.
* 2014: Subsequent investigations revealed the building was not built to standards of the time and police begin looking at criminal charges.
* Dec 16, 2016: Police complete their report.
* Nov 30, 2017: Police announce they will not prosecute anyone for the building's collapse.

- with content from NZ Herald

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