On Friday, 18 members of the fraternity were found guilty of manslaughter and degrading treatment. But, while prosecutors had argued for prison time, they were instead sentenced to between 200 and 300 hours of community service, and fined about $430 each., Dia and two other recruits had been forced to drink excessive quantities of alcohol as part of their initiations.
And the treatment, particularly the drinking of fish oil, led directly to Dia’s death. He was taken to hospital around 9 p.m. on Dec. 5, about two hours after the ritual started. Soon after, he had a heart attack and fell into a coma.According to the court documents, Dia’s death was caused by the excessive amount of salt in his bloodstream, caused by the consumption of fish oil. His condition was exacerbated by hypothermia — his core body temperature having fallen to 27 degrees .
However, they were acquitted of failing to help Dia or administering a harmful substance causing death or illness — with the court finding that there was no warning on the fish oil bottle and that even doctors may be unaware of the levels of toxic salt consumption.In addition to the fines, the fraternity members were ordered to pay damages, including to the two other students who underwent the hazing rituals and also were hospitalized.
The judgment was welcomed by lawyers for the defendants. John Maes, who defended two of the fraternity members, said the verdict was “balanced and well-reasoned,”, while Jorgen Van Laer, a lawyer for another of the defendants, said the ruling was “just” and accused the media of blowing the case “out of proportion.”