Firm Founded By Billionaire Qatar Philanthropist Still Not Paid Compo To Tragic Irish Girl

An Irish family whose daughter Elizabeth was seriously burnt in a house fire in Qatar in 2014 when she was a baby have still not received a penny as the management company continues to contest every decision in the courts.

Al Asmakh Real Estate Development, which is owned by Regency Group Holding, have not disputed the facts of the case, and yet the company, owned by multimillionaire “philanthropist” Ibrahim Al Asmakh, has still contested every single ruling.

Victim Elizabeth Soffe, now aged nine, was just a six-month-old baby when her home in Al-Waab, Qatar, caught fire in 2014, leaving her with third-degree burns to 60 per cent of her body.

She also lost her hair, an ear and some fingers, as well as part of her nose, in the horrific blaze.

The family, who were in Qatar while dad Liam was working as a project manager for infrastructure being developed ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, now live in Birmingham, in the UK, and Elizabeth needs lifelong care.

Photo shows Elizabeth Soffe, undated. Elizabeth Soffe was just six months old when her familys home in Al-Waab, Qatar, caught fire, leaving her with third-degree burns to 60 percent of her body. (@littlemisscheekypants/Newsflash)

On its webpage, the Regency group Holdings boasts that their founder is a philanthropist as well as a leading figure in Qatar with interests in real estate, tourism, travel and wellness.

It states: “Ibrahim’s prolific philanthropic work characterizes the spirit of Qatar and reflects the integrity of Regency’s corporate ethics.”

This is in contrast with a simple video provided to Newsflash by her parents in which Elizabeth can be seen asking people to be kind to themselves, to one another and to the planet.

The family were finally awarded QAR 15 million (GBP 3.4 million) to go towards all the treatment she will need throughout her life after a court battle for compensation to help fund Elizabeth’s treatment that went on for six years.

But a court in Qatar has since cut that figure to about GBP 1.6 million after the property company deemed responsible appealed.

Newsflash spoke to Sinead and Liam Soffe in an exclusive interview and they said that Elizabeth, now nine, will need surgeries and ongoing treatment for the rest of her life.

Photo shows Elizabeth Soffe, undated. Elizabeth Soffe was just six months old when her familys home in Al-Waab, Qatar, caught fire, leaving her with third-degree burns to 60 percent of her body. (@littlemisscheekypants/Newsflash)

They said she will need “regular surgery as skin grafts don’t grow with you so constantly needs releases and grafting to allow her to grow.”

They added: “Currently Elizabeth needs physiotherapy to keep her full range of movement as skin grafts become tight. Laser treatment to break up her scars and needs scar management treatments four times a day.”

They explained that Elizabeth will need countless operations in the future, including reconstructive surgery. The distraught parents said: “She will need many operations in the future. reconstruction all over, in particular [to her] face, hands and chest, wigs, and a prosthetic ear.

“Skin graft release operations every six months. She would also need adaptations to be able to work etc such as an adapted car, etc.”

Elizabeth’s parents, Sinead and Liam, initially filed their lawsuit against Al-Asmakh Real Estate Development, the company that managed their home, in 2017.

The initial compensation amount was awarded after a fire expert determined that the blaze had been caused by faulty electrics or poor maintenance of an air conditioning unit.

Liam and Sinead, a civil engineer and a nurse, both 44, are critical of the Qatari court’s latest ruling to halve the compensation amount, saying: “We were told the court removed the future operations amount as there were no future procedures scheduled.”

Photo shows Elizabeth Soffe, undated. Elizabeth Soffe was just six months old when her familys home in Al-Waab, Qatar, caught fire, leaving her with third-degree burns to 60 percent of her body. (@littlemisscheekypants/Newsflash)

But they added: “We believe it’s wrong as how can you rule that the child was injured as a result of negligence, award costs for operations and treatment in the past but not in the future?

“She will need operations her whole life, how can there be ‘scheduled’? The court-appointed medical expert was clear on what treatments she would need and what it would cost.”

And they said that the court in Qatar “appointed an independent fire expert who determined it was a unit installed and maintained by Al Asmakh and they did not properly install and maintain it. They were responsible.”

And they have not yet received a single penny from the other party to help with Elizabeth’s treatment, not least as the Al Asmakh company keeps appealing the rulings.

They said: “We have not received any money to date. Al Asmakh have appealed every ruling. There has been no challenge to the facts, only the process.”

They said: “We understand that it’s currently in the lowest court after being moved from the Supreme Court. Appeals would move the case back up through the courts to the Supreme Court. we fully expect Al Asmakh to continue to appeal all rulings.”

They added: “No one has ever challenged the facts, only dispute as to which court it’s heard in, currently in the ‘rental disputes’ court.

“Also to clarify, the hearing in February is not to conclude the case, it’s to basically start the whole process all over again following Al Asmakh’s appeal against the lower amount awarded.”

Photo shows Elizabeth Soffe, undated. Elizabeth Soffe was just six months old when her familys home in Al-Waab, Qatar, caught fire, leaving her with third-degree burns to 60 percent of her body. (@littlemisscheekypants/Newsflash)

They also felt that it was “important to acknowledge how rich this man Ibrahim Al Asmakh actually is.”

Al Asmakh is the President of Regency Group Holding, which describes him on its website as “an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of the Regency Group Holding conglomerate: one of the most established and iconic corporations in Qatar.”

Liam and Sinead, who hail from Dublin, Ireland, but who said they now live in the UK as it is where their daughter can be treated, said that they haven’t told Elizabeth about all the legal matters, saying: “We keep all this from Elizabeth. She’s too young to understand and it’s too depressing to bother anyone else with.

The family have a JustGiving page to help raise funds for equipment for the hospital that has been treating Elizabeth: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Soffe-Step-Challenge

The next court date is now set for February.


To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Joseph GolderSub-EditorWilliam McGee, Agency: Newsflash

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