By Jaber Al-Hamoud
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 16: The Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of the Court of First Instance, which acquitted a citizen of beating his compatriot to death.
The Public Prosecution charged the citizen with deliberate beating to death of the deceased as stated in the medical report which showed the man died when he was hit with a metal object. It was revealed that both citizens had previous disagreement over a parking space in an area where they both resided. The issue escalated into a fistfight during which the deceased sustained injuries, so he was confined in the Intensive Care Unit in an undisclosed hospital where he died later.
However, the defendant’s lawyer, Attorney En’am Haider, argued that allegation against her client was not proven beyond reasonable doubt, according to Article 152 of the Penal Code. She said her client was legitimately defending himself in the course of the fight in line with Article 32 of the Penal Code, which states it is not a crime for anybody to defend his life, money, property or life of others. She explained that such a situation only occurs when a person faces danger.
Biggest fine ever:
In a ruling that involved the biggest fine in the history of Kuwaiti judiciary, the Criminal Court has sentenced a director from Jahra Municipality (a fugitive) and a Syrian expatriate to 7 years imprisonment with hard labor and fine of KD 740 million, and jointly ordered the duo to return a sum of KD 370 million; hence, the total sum to be paid is a billion and 110 million dinars.
Case files indicated that auditors at the municipality discovered a racket involved in the licensing of several pockets of land in Sebiyya and Salmi areas where a company was fraudulently issued license to use the land for quarry purposes.
The fugitive (director) was accused of tampering with the licensing system of the municipality where he issued licenses to concerned companies and later went ahead to cancel them in a manner that did not appear as ‘cancelled’ to auditors and inspectors.
The pockets of land in question involved about 400 thousand square meters area divided into four plots, and another 500 thousand square meters area. Those sites were operational for about two years and the looting of sand and quarry (stones) that took place within the period is estimated at millions of dinars.
Dad to bear expenses:
The Court of Appeals has issued a sentence to order the ex-husband of a Kuwaiti woman to pay her KD 8,000 to buy a vehicle for their first daughter in order for her to commute to her university, a monthly sum of KD 120 to pay the salary of the driver, and a sum of KD 5,000 for the care of their second daughter.
This sentence was issued after it was proven that the father of the two girls has varied sources of income, as well as a number of luxury vehicles.
Lawyer Fatima Al-Shatti, who represented the Kuwaiti woman, explained in the case that her client was given custody of her two daughters after the divorce with her ex-husband was finalized. However, the girls’ father refused to pay for the expenses of his daughters, despite several pleas by their mother, forcing her to resort to the court.
The court ordered the defendant to pay for the expenses of his daughters, especially since they are university students, and are in need of proper transportation and other items to facilitate their education and well-being.
‘Death accidental’:
The Court of First Instance acquitted a Kuwaiti citizen who was accused of driving carelessly , hitting and killing a pedestrian unintentionally.
The Public Prosecution had charged the citizen with speeding, driving his vehicle carelessly, and hitting and killing the victim. According to the Forensics report, the death was accidental.
During the court session, Lawyer Mohammad Al-Husseini, who represented the citizen, affirmed that his client did not test positive in the alcohol test.
He insisted that the victim died because of his own mistake, as he had crossed the highway, adding that there are no other evidences in the case file that can convict his client.
3 years for Bedoun:
The Court of Appeals upheld the verdict issued by a lower court which sentenced a Bedoun activist Mohammad Khudhair to threeyear imprisonment in a State Security case filed against him for participating in an illegal gathering and inciting supporters to murder the officials of Central System for Remedying Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR).
The Public Prosecution charged the suspect with several allegations including inciting the public to avoid following the laws and regulations of the country.