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Contractor to testify in Tongaat probe

The chief executive of Gralio Precast, Jay Singh, is expected to testify at the commission of inquiry into the 2013 Tongaat mall collapse on Monday.

Gralio Precast is the developing company behind the construction of the mall.

The commission of inquiry was appointed following the structural collapse of the mall on November 19 2013, which claimed the lives of two people and injured 29 others.

In December Tongaat Mall engineer Dr Andre Ballack dismissed suggestions that he was "grossly negligent" by allowing deviations from his drawings

Ballack argued that he had no reason to doubt the integrity of the contractor, Singh, who assured him that the project was proceeding as per specifications until the fatal day.

He has testified that Singh failed on several occasions to furnish him with test cube results to determine the strength of the concrete.

Ballack told the commission that he relied on the contractor's word to authorise the stripping.

The inquiry was expected to complete its work in the first quarter of 2015.

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