Building collapse in Penha: police to charge four with homicide, including municipal inspector
Civil Police will charge at least four people with homicide through eventual dolus following a building collapse in the East Zone of São Paulo that killed six. Among those charged is a municipal inspector.
Four charged with homicide in collapse that killed six in Penha
The Civil Police reported, according to g1.globo.com, that it will charge at least four people with homicide through eventual dolus as a result of a building collapse under construction in the East Zone of São Paulo, which occurred in the early hours of last Saturday (12), resulting in the deaths of six people. Among those charged are those responsible for the construction company and a municipal inspector.
The sectional delegate of Itaquera, Antônio José Pereira, confirmed that three people with temporary arrest already decreed and the municipal employee will be subject to the charges. In the police's understanding, those involved had knowledge of the risks that could lead to death and, nonetheless, proceeded with the conduct — a characterisation typical of eventual dolus in the Penal Code.
Altogether, 12 people have already been heard by investigators. The São Paulo City Council determined, also on this Tuesday (15), the halt of 26 developments linked to the construction companies responsible for the building.
History of irregularities spans at least five years
The history of problems with the construction dates back to 2021, when the municipality sought a court order for the demolition of an illegal construction at the address and issued a fine of R$ 119,000. At the time, there was another building on the site. In 2022, the construction company submitted a new project to the municipality.
In 2023, a permit was issued authorising the work, on the condition that the previous structure be demolished. A photograph from January of that year shows an eight-storey building at the address. In February 2024, the Penha Subprefecture conducted an inspection regarding the demolition of an area of 154 square metres on the site.
In the inspection document, inspector Viviane Rodrigues de Palma stated that, "in our technical understanding, we concluded that the demolition (...) was carried out in its entirety, giving way to the execution of a new building in progress". The photographs attached to the report, however, appear to show the building under construction since 2019. After the collapse, the construction company's lawyer confirmed that no demolition had been carried out at the address.
Inspector admits she did not enter the building during inspection
Viviane Rodrigues de Palma gave a statement on this Tuesday (15) for approximately two hours at the police station responsible for the investigation. She admitted not having entered the building during the inspection.
"When I arrived at the location, the work was halted and already had considerable progress, already had some storeys, but it was not completed. And it did not have characteristics of abandonment, but we do not enter a private construction without authorisation. So my inspection, it remained very much in the visual field," said Viviane.
The inspector also denied having attested to the demolition mentioned in the report. "At no moment did I declare that that building would have been demolished. At no moment did I declare that it had safety, also because it was not my responsibility to see the safety at that moment of the inspection," she said.
The São Paulo City Council announced Viviane's suspension for 120 days to prevent interference in the investigations.
Construction company partners: one arrested, two fugitives
Following a custody hearing, the courts upheld the temporary arrest of Ronaldo Vivacqua, identified by the investigation as a hidden partner in one of the companies responsible for the work. Two other investigated individuals also had temporary arrest decreed: Cristiano Vivacqua, son of Ronaldo and indicated by the police as author of the project and engineer responsible for execution of the work, and Isis Brandão, who is formally listed as owner of the company. Cristiano and Isis were considered fugitives until the closing of this report.
According to Civil Police, Ronaldo does not formally appear in the documents of the two companies identified as responsible for the construction. Investigators state, however, that witness statements and old documents indicate that he acted in the company's administration and participated effectively in the works. The police maintain that witnesses reported that Ronaldo "acted, administered and managed and participated effectively in the work". The individual participation of each investigated person will still be determined over the course of the inquiry.
Defence denies accusations and says work was regular
New Home Construtora reported having opened an internal investigation to determine the causes of the collapse and declared that there are, at this moment, insufficient elements to determine what caused the structural failure. The company stated that it does not exempt itself from any responsibility pointed out by the investigations, that it is providing support to the families of the victims, and that it will provide all necessary clarifications to the authorities.
The lawyer for the companies linked to the work denied that Ronaldo Vivacqua held a management position at the construction company and rejected the characterisation of hidden partner made by the police. According to the defence, Ronaldo merely accompanied his son Cristiano Vivacqua, the technical person responsible for the work. The defence described the decree of temporary arrests as "premature" and stated that it intends to request the revocation of Ronaldo's arrest.
The defence also denied that those responsible are evading the authorities. Cristiano Vivacqua and Isis Brandão would be in the state of São Paulo and should present themselves voluntarily to the police in the following days. A lawyer reportedly contacted the police station on Saturday itself, and someone responsible for the work was present at the site of the collapse shortly after the incident.
Regarding the irregularities pointed out by the police and the municipality, the defence maintained that the work was in a regular situation. The lawyer acknowledged the existence of a court action seeking the demolition of the previous construction, but contested the authorities' interpretation of compliance with legal requirements.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo