Widow of the Microsoft consultant Santosh Benjamin, 36 who died while rescuing his two children from a house fire started by a faulty Beko fridge-freezer has called for tougher sanctions against manufacturers guilty of safety breaches. Currently, white goods manufacturers can be fined £5,000.
Santosh passed the children through a window before being overcome by fumes. Investigators discovered the fire originated in the fridge-freezer, which Beko had been warned was a potential safety risk but had not recalled.
At an inquest into his death, a coroner called for tougher punishments for manufacturers who fail to notify authorities of a fault, including unlimited fines and jail terms of up to two years.
The Evening Standard reported that Mr Benjamin’s wife Jennifer said: “We lost a gentle and nurturing father, a very special son and a loving husband as a result of this tragic incident.
“What happened to us should never happen again to another household. When we bought our fridge, we trusted the manufacturer for a safe product.
“Manufacturers, producers and their retailers should be held more accountable for their actions, or their lack of response to safety concerns.”
Beko, based in Watford, faces more than £300,000 in fine. The company is being prosecuted by Hertfordshire trading standards for 69 alleged safety breaches and is due to appear in court in November.
