Man acquitted of carrying liquor and drunken driving

Bail frees man in drugs case

By Jaber Al-Hamoud

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 23: The Court of Appeals dismissed a verdict issued by a lower court against a Kuwaiti citizen in absentia, which sentenced him to fiveyear imprisonment with hard labor and a fine of KD 1,000 for possessing liquor and hashish for his use and for drunken driving without adhering to lane discipline on the roads. The court instead refrained from pronouncing penalty against him and ordered him to sign a pledge of good conduct.

According to the case file, the arresting officer, during a routine security patrol, spotted the suspect driving in a zigzag manner on the road. He stopped the suspect to issue a traffic citation but discovered that the latter is in a disoriented state. He checked the vehicle to find five 5 bottles of a liquid which he suspected to be an intoxicant.

The defense counsel Lawyer En’am Haider stressed that the procedures for taking blood and urine samples of her client were invalid, affirming that unavailability of incriminating evidence against her client. She also pointed out the nonjurisdiction of the arresting officer over a crime which is described as felony.

Bail frees man:

Haider

The Detention Renewal Judge ordered the release of a citizen accused of trafficking in drugs on KD 500 bail.

Preliminary investigations revealed the accused sells drugs in his farm. A warrant was then obtained from the Public Prosecution to raid his house, arrest him and search his farm. This resulted in the discovery of an undisclosed quantity of drugs and a weighing scale in the farm.

Lawyer for the accused, Attorney Jarah Hameed Al Sharika, pointed out his client denied the charges while there is no incriminating evidence and results of investigations were inconclusive, hence, the lack of justification for temporary detention of the accused. The lawyer argued his client is a Kuwaiti and he has no reason to escape because he is a family

man and an employee.

Retiree gets rights:

The Court of Appeals affirmed the right of a Kuwaiti retiree to collect unpaid difference in his pension from the Public Institution of Social Security, because his health condition categorizes him as permanently disabled as a result of more than 50 percent disability.

Lawyer for the citizen, Attorney Misfer Al-Ajmi, filed an application on Jan 25 urging the court to disregard the previous judgment which ordered referring back to the specialized medical committee in the Forensics Unit at the Ministry of Interior to affirm level of disability.

The lawyer reiterated that the General Medical Council already categorized the case as a permanent disability and the condition of his client has not improved. He blamed the Public Institution Social Security’s Medical Committee, which was formed according to finance minister decision number 1/2011 for failure to review medical tests conducted until Oct 16, 2014.

‘Pay monthly stipend’:

The Personal Status Division of the Court of First Instance ordered a Kuwaiti man to pay KD 100 as monthly expenses for the upkeep of his estranged wife starting from the day of filing the lawsuit, in addition to KD 50 as monthly upkeep of their daughter and another KD 50 for employing a housemaid from the date of verdict delivery.

In a case filed by the plaintiff counsel Lawyer Jassem Ahmad Bandar, his client demanded for full expenses covering all three types of marital expenses, confirmation of daughter’s custody with expenses, accommodation and housemaid wage with recruitment expenses.

He cited Article 194 of the Personal Status Law No. 51/1984, which stipulates that a girl shall no longer be under the custody of a man upon reaching the puberty age. He also cited Article 58 of the same law, which states that the woman shall take over custody of a girl upon reaching age 15 or when signs of puberty begin to manifest.

Lawyer Bandar presented the wedding contract between the couple and the defendant’s salary certificate. He brought in two witnesses to affirm that the woman left the matrimonial home after she was ordered to do so by the estranged husband.