Volendam cafe owner escapes jail

Volendam cafe owner escapes jail
The owner of a Volendam cafe that caught fire more than two years ago killing 14 youths was given a 12-month suspended jail term and 240 hours community service on Friday.
Haarlem Court also ruled that 57-year-old Jan Veerman — who was accused of culpable homicide and negligence leading to the fire on the night of 31 December 2000 — may not work as a cafe, restaurant or hotel employer for the next two years. The prosecution had demanded a 16-month jail term. It also demanded fines totalling EUR 3,000 because of evidence that cafe De Hemel was operating without a permit when the fire broke out. The court, however, declared the evidence inadmissible, Dutch associated press ANP reported.

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old cafe manager, John Veerman (no relation), was acquitted of culpable homicide and negligence. The prosecution had demanded a 10-month jail sentence. Laura Veerman, 27, the daughter of cafe owner Veerman, was also acquitted of the charge.
The presiding judge said both manger Veerman and Laura Veerman did not command a leading role at the cafe and were not independently authorised to make decisions regarding the cafe. Therefore, they could not be held responsible for any breaches of regulations.
The tragedy occurred on New Year's Eve 2000 when a youth accidentally set fire to the Christmas decorations, which the prosecution claimed were too low and not fire-proofed as requested by the Edam-Volendam Council. The tragedy in the small fishing village located north of Amsterdam deeply shocked the nation.

The prosecution had also claimed that the decorations obscured the emergency exit signs and in the aftermath of the tragedy it was revealed that the cafe windows were barred and locked. Veerman claimed in court, however, that they were easy to open and that the cafe had sufficient emergency exits. Neither of the defendants were charged with intentionally causing the fire — in which almost 300 victims were injured — and defence lawyers demanded that all three be acquitted, claiming that the fire was caused by a dramatic course of developments that the suspects could not have anticipated.

They also said the prosecution's evidence was not admissible because the trial violated the principle of equality. The defence claimed that other parties should also have been prosecuted for the blaze, such as the Edam-Volendam Council. Legal experts agreed and said the council was trying to pass the blame onto the three defendants. The prosecution did not dispute that the Council had failed to adequately supervise the safety of the cafe, but claimed it was ultimately Veerman's responsibility to ensure his premises met safety regulations.

The local council had asked Veerman in April 2000 to address safety issues, but the cafe owner failed to carry out the requested modifications before the fatal fire. He was operating the cafe without the required permit. But in earlier court testimony, Veerman cried and screamed, saying that in the past two and a half years he had been made out to be a murderer and treated like he had actually lit the fire. He claimed that himself and his workers had been abandoned after the fire and that he felt like screaming from the rooftop after reading all the bad press he received.

Veerman told the court he is a good boss and denied negligence on his part led to the fire. He said he never shirked his duties: "If other people do that, I don't accept it. Good is not good enough". He tried to paint a picture of himself as a tough boss of his staff who always tried to implement safety regulations. But one young woman, who suffered severe burns in the fire, described his claims as "laughable". "What he is saying is not true," she said, "He is just trying to make the situation look a lot prettier."

But a TNO research institute defence witness said the fire would have been just as difficult to extinguish even if the Christmas decorations were fireproofed and that no one could have anticipated how quickly the fire spread. The witness said the tragedy would have been much worse if the emergency doors and windows had not been shut because the fire rapidly used up all of its oxygen and extinguished itself within one minute. By mid-afternoon on Friday it was not yet known if the prosecution would appeal the ruling.