Prosecutor says seven-year-old child 'culpable' for choking on chocolate tube cap

Click to read the article in Turkish (1) (2)

Mert Yağız Köksal (7) lost his life in December 2019 in Ankara after choking on the cap of a syringe-shaped chocolate tube, which he had bought from his school canteen.

Umut Bilgi, another seven-year-old, died of the same reason a week later in Diyarbakır.

Investigating Köksal's death, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, stated in the indictment that the child was "essentially culpable" for his death, citing an expert report by the Forensic Medicine Institution.

The indictment says Köksal's death "occurred as a result of mechanical asphyxia due to obstruction of the respiratory tract by a foreign object," which happened because the child tried to remove the cap with his teeth rather than his hands, citing the forensic medicine report.

Therefore, the indictment says, he was "essentially culpable" for his own death as a result of "imprudent and careless behavior."

Neşe Y., who runs the school canteen, and Yunus T., the manager of the firm that distributes the syringe-shaped chocolate tubes, are facing up to six years in prison for "causing death by negligence."

The indictment describes their culpability as "secondary."

The attorney of the Köksal family, Özge Şimşek-Çağlayan, said the report that the indictment is based on was unlawful.

"It is indisputable that this situation will deeply hurt the public conscience. It is incredible that it was overlooked that the attention and care of an adult can't be expected from a child," she said and added that they would make the necessary objections.

The Human Rights Association (İHD) also released a statement after the indictment was published, saying that "no child can be held responsible for their own death and a chain of negligence cannot be ignored."

"It is obligatory to check the age-appropriateness of food and food packaging produced and sold for children's consumption, and therefore children cannot be held responsible for any damage they may suffer," said the association.

The manufacturer, which used a cap that could be slipped into the throat and did not put any warning signs on the package, and the canteen operator, who sold the product, and the school administration and the district education directorates, which did not inspect the products sold in canteens, are responsible for the deaths, according to the İHD. (AÖ/VK)