Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — A court in Ferghana region has sentenced the director and technologist of Garden Catering Trade to prison terms over the mass poisoning of 105 kindergarten children.
The cassation court overturned an earlier ruling concerning their sentences and issued a new guilty verdict, the Ferghana Regional Court reported.
The defendants were Garden Catering Trade LLC director Shavkat Turdaliyev and technologist Rasuljon Alimov. The ruling issued by Furkat District Court on 21 September 2026 was reviewed through cassation proceedings. Turdaliyev was sentenced to four years in prison, while Alimov received a term of three years and six months.
The district court had initially sentenced both men to restricted freedom. Turdaliyev received a term of three years and nine days, while Alimov was sentenced to two years, six months and nine days. Both were released from custody in the courtroom after the initial verdict was announced.
The criminal case concerns the mass poisoning of children in February 2026. After eating food supplied by Garden Catering Trade to kindergartens in Ferghana region, 105 children showed symptoms of illness.
According to the investigation materials, the children were served meat-stuffed cabbage rolls on 20 February. Laboratory tests found Salmonella enteritidis and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in food samples. The same microorganisms were also detected on kitchen equipment, surfaces and workers' hands.
The case also involved alleged violations of sanitary requirements, embezzlement of public funds and document forgery. According to the case materials, the company's management inflated the number of children in daily meal plans and submitted false reports on food purchases.
The court established that 330.8 million soums had been embezzled in one episode and 594.1 million soums in another.
Earlier, former Garden Catering Trade director Ikboljon Bozorov and accountant Akhliddin Sayfitdinov were sentenced in the same case to three years of correctional labour, with 20% of their earnings to be withheld and transferred to the state.
