A court in the Mangistau region has handed down a sentence for improper road maintenance following a deadly accident that killed five people, according to the website infohub.kz.
According to the General Transport Prosecutor's Office, the Beyneu District Court of the Mangistau region heard a criminal case concerning a road traffic accident that occurred on January 16, 2026, on the national highway Dossor – Kulsary – Beyneu – Say-Otes – Shetpe – Zhetibay – Aktau.
"Due to icy conditions, a Yutong passenger bus skidded off the road and overturned. The accident killed five people and injured 14 others," the supervisory agency said.
An investigation revealed that the tragedy was caused by improper winter road maintenance. The prosecution established a direct causal link between the inaction of responsible officials and the consequences.
"This is the first criminal case in Kazakhstan's law enforcement practice where improper winter road maintenance became the basis for criminal liability for deaths," the General Transport Prosecutor's Office added.
The court found the head of DEU-57 of the Mangistau regional branch of KAZHServis LLP guilty under Part 4 of Article 353 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan. He was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months of suspended imprisonment.
The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.