SVR Strumica has filed a criminal complaint with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Strumica against K.K. (36), S.R. (38), M.T. (42), S.O. (61), and Gj.M. (54), all from Strumica, on grounds of reasonable suspicion that K.K., S.R., and S.O. committed the criminal offense of “negligent performance of duties” under Article 353-v; M.T. committed the criminal offense of “abuse of official position and authority” under Article 353; and Gj.M. committed the criminal offense of “illegal construction” under Article 244-a of the Criminal Code.
At the time of the offense, M.T., employed as an advisor – urban planning analyst in the Sector for Urbanism, Communal Affairs, and Construction Land at the Municipality of Strumica, exceeded the limits of her official authority by acting contrary to the Law on Construction and the restrictions of the detailed urban plan, according to which no construction was foreseen at the specific location, and issued an approval for reconstruction. Such an act could not be considered reconstruction, as the planned construction activities למעשה constituted new construction. This was also evident from the basic project submitted by the applicant in the procedure, which, instead of being conducted as a reconstruction procedure, had elements of a procedure for the construction of a new building.
S.R., at the time of the offense head of the Sector for Urbanism, Communal Affairs, and Construction Land at the Municipality of Strumica, acted negligently in the performance of her official duties by failing to exercise proper supervision throughout the procedure and approving the reconstruction permit, even though she knew or should have known that it was not a reconstruction but the construction of an entirely new building at a location where, according to the detailed urban plan, construction was not permitted.
K.K., at the time Mayor of the Municipality of Strumica, also acted negligently in the performance of his official duties by failing to exercise proper supervision over the procedure and signing the issued reconstruction approval.
Gj.M., without waiting for the procedure regarding the reconstruction request to be lawfully completed, began construction at his own responsibility and risk. Under the pretext of reconstructing an existing structure on a plot where, according to the detailed urban plan, construction was not permitted, he built a new second-category building.
S.O., at the time an authorized construction inspector at the Municipality of Strumica, in the procedure she conducted against Gj.M., instead of establishing that it was a case of illegal construction of a second-category building—i.e., a criminal offense prosecuted ex officio—determined that it was a misdemeanor under the Law on Construction, even though, based on the documents presented as evidence during the inspection procedure, she could and should have known that it was not a reconstruction of an existing building but rather the construction of an entirely new facility.