The Šiauliai Regional Court, having heard a criminal case on appeal concerning the death of a woman working in a grain granary on a farm in the Pakruojis district, convicted 70-year-old Šiauliai resident and owner of the farm A. L., a man from Šiauliai, was found guilty of reckless deprivation of life.

According to the prosecutor's office, the court sentenced A. L. to three years' imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered him to apologise to all the victims.

The three victims were awarded a total of EUR 37,000 in civil claims.

It was established that the owner of the farm failed to ensure safe working conditions on the farm and thus contributed to the death of the woman. According to the case, the woman had gone inside a silo in the grain store to spill grain. At the same time, when other workers opened the flaps of the same hopper, the woman was drawn into the downward flow of grain. Firefighters who arrived at the scene pulled out the woman's body after several hours of searching, and medics pronounced her dead.

In the course of the investigation into the circumstances of the incident, it was established that the accused had not only failed to ensure safe and harmless working conditions, but had also carried out the activity without completing the procedure for the completion of the construction of the grain store. According to witnesses, on the fateful day, the Šiauliai man had left the distribution and supervision of the work to an unqualified and drunken agronomist-traction worker.