In 2024, Servet Polat, 60, was hospitalized on suspicion of poisoning after eating kumpir at a business in İzmir's Buca district. After being discharged, he died at home. It was determined that the cause of death was food poisoning, and salmonella bacteria were found in the kumpir sample.
50,000 LIRA COMPENSATION The İzmir 23rd Civil Court of First Instance issued a ruling in the moral damages case related to Polat's death. The court partially accepted the lawsuit filed by Polat's two children demanding 500,000 lira each and ordered that his daughter Bahar Zeyrek and son Murat Polat be paid 50,000 lira each in moral damages, with legal interest accruing from the incident date, December 28, 2024.
THE AMOUNT DOES NOT MATTER TO US
Bahar Zeyrek, who lost her mother, stated that her mother died due to salmonella bacteria and said, "I want everyone responsible here to be punished. A mother's life is not worth 50,000 lira. The amount does not matter to us. Even if they gave me 1 million or 5 million, my mother will not come back. I am seeking justice. We will appeal to a higher court and object to the decision." She added, "Our lives are ruined.
It has been 18.5 months, and today was the first time I looked at my mother's photos; I couldn't look before. Everyone knew us there, we couldn't do it, everything reminded us of my mother. I go down the stairs, my mother, I sit down, my mother. Fifteen days after the incident, we had to move from the house we had lived in for 27 years."
NOT EVEN THE WORLD CAN BRING MY MOTHER BACK
Servet Polat's son, Murat Polat, said, "I want to donate the money given to children without parents. Let it go to children who lost their mothers. After all, our mother died. Even if they gave me the world, my mother will not come back."
CRIMINAL CASE CONTINUES The İzmir 17th High Criminal Court is continuing the trial of the defendants, the owner of the business where kumpir was sold, N. D., and his wife C. D., who worked at the business, without detention.
They face up to 15 years in prison for "causing death and injury by negligence" and up to 5 years for "trading spoiled or altered food."
WHAT HAPPENED?
Bahar Zeyrek, her mother Servet Polat, and her 11-year-old son Gökhan Zeyrek, who live in İzmir’s Buca district, ate kumpir at a business in Efeler Neighborhood on December 28, 2024. The family went to Buca Seyfi Demirsoy Training and Research Hospital the same day with complaints of vomiting and diarrhea and returned home after treatment.
The next day, as their symptoms continued, the mother, daughter, and grandson returned to the hospital and were discharged after emergency treatment. Servet Polat died two days after the incident, and the family filed a complaint against the business.
FOOD POISONING
The report from the Ministry of Justice Forensic Medicine Institute’s 1st Specialty Board stated that Polat's death was caused by "food poisoning."
SALMONELLA BACTERIA FOUND
The inspection and analysis report from the İzmir Food Control Laboratory Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry found salmonella bacteria in the kumpir sample offered for sale. The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accepted the indictment prepared against defendants N. D. and C. D., charging them with up to 15 years for "causing death and injury by negligence" and up to 5 years for "trading spoiled or altered food."
