Court in Fergana region passes verdict in poisoning of 105 children

The court sentenced the head of the company to 3 years and 6 months of restriction of freedom; the final term, factoring in time served in pre-trial detention, is 3 years and 9 days. He was found guilty of violating sanitary legislation, theft, embezzlement or misappropriation, and forgery of documents. The food technologist was convicted of violating sanitary legislation: 3 years of restriction of freedom, reduced to 2 years, 6 months, and 9 days taking into account time spent in custody. The former director and the chief accountant, whom the court found guilty of embezzlement and forgery of documents, each received 3 years of correctional labor, with 20% of their earnings withheld in favor of the state. According to Podrobno.uz, the verdict was delivered on September 21.

According to the verdict, on February 20, 2026, the company, which served 238 state kindergartens in Fergana, Margilan, Kuvasay, and the Kuva and Fergana districts, delivered a meat dish to kindergartens in Fergana. Following this, 105 children from 15 institutions developed poisoning symptoms. Salmonella enteritidis and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in food samples, and forensic analysis confirmed a link between the children's illness and the company's products.

The court also examined financial counts. According to case materials, daily menus inflated the number of children, and fictitious reports were submitted for payment, resulting in the misappropriation of 330.8 million soums. Another 171.1 million soums involved markups on menus at 22 kindergartens in Kuvasay, and 53.4 million soums involved payments for products returned as unfit. Damages from an illegal connection to the power grid of a kindergarten in Kuvasay were estimated at 105.89 million soums. The court ordered the recovery of 1.1139 billion soums for the budget and a separate 105.89 million soums for electricity.