BBC News reported on the prosecution of Market Village Company Ltd, which operates Aberdeen Market, after the body of Mr Finnie was found at the bottom of a fire escape stairwell at the indoor market in June 2018. After an investigation, it was established that the company had ‘failed to maintain’ the lighting in the stairwell, and it was prosecuted over a contravention of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.
Mr Finnie had been reported as missing by his care workers at the sheltered housing accommodation he was living in on 8 June 2018, and his body was discovered the next day by a police officer at the market, with both Police Scotland and Aberdeen City Council investigating his death and bringing the prosecution against Market Village Company Ltd.
The company pleaded guilty to contravening the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, and head of the Crown Office’s health and safety investigation unit Alistair Duncan stated that the incident had been ‘entirely foreseeable’, adding: ‘The family of Frank Finnie must live with the consequences of the company's failings.
‘While Market Village has taken effective steps to remedy the deficiency in the maintenance of the fire escape stairwell, this conviction and sentence should serve as a reminder to other companies to adhere to the regulations and that failure to do so can have tragic consequences.’