Copyright: Police Scotland
It has been confirmed that there will be no criminal proceedings or fatal accident inquiry over the deaths of 2-year-old twin brothers who drowned in a large commercial fish tank at a house in Fife, Scotland.
Rhys and Shaun Scott were found in the garden tank at the rented house in Dalgety Bay on 12 March 2016.
They were taken by ambulance to Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
The property’s owner had previously run a business breeding carp at the property and had installed the tank in the garden before the family had moved in.
The Health and Safety Executive liaised with the police over the deaths, as it has the ability to compile reports for prosecutors if it believes landlords have put tenants in danger. The HSE rarely gets involved in domestic deaths, but its inspectors looked at potential links between the incident and the former fish importation business, Okayama Koi.
In 2012, Fife Council gave planning permission for the “installation of a fish tank and enclosure to the side” of the house, at an estimated cost of £25,000.
A Crown Office spokesman said: “Crown Counsel have concluded that there should be no criminal proceedings following the tragic deaths of Rhys and Shaun Scott at their home in Dalgety Bay in March 2016.
“After carefully considering the reports that were submitted to the procurator fiscal, Crown Counsel have also decided that there should be no fatal accident inquiry as the reasons for the tragedy were established during the course of the investigation.
“That investigation was carried out by Police Scotland, the Health and Safety Executive and Fife Council with oversight from the specialist Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit of the Crown Office.
“The family of Rhys and Shaun have been informed of Crown Counsel’s instructions.”
