A former official in the Far East island of Sakhalin will stand trial on forgery charges for signing documents that permitted residents to move in to an unfinished apartment building, the local prosecutor's office said in a statement Monday.
On Dec. 29, the former head of the development department of a state-financed institution in Okha signed acceptance documents for a new 18-apartment residential building, including a certificate testifying to its full compliance with design specifications. The building's owner then allowed local residents to move in.
But the building had no plumbing, no power, and no bathroom appliances. The interior had also been left unfinished.
Prosecutors charged the official with forgery, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The case was opened after residents complained after enduring several winter months in the unfinished building, the report said.
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