KUWAIT CITY, Dec 4: The Court of Appeals overturned the verdict of the First Instance Court, which had previously sentenced a building watchman (haris) to five years in prison to be followed by deportation for alleged sexual harassment of a maid. However, the court did not announce its ruling on the case.
Case files indicate the watchman has been accused of molesting and trying to kiss the maid while she was dumping trash. The defendant’s lawyer, Attorney Mohammad Al-Majidi, argued the detention procedure was invalid because his client was not caught red-handed. He asked the court to dismiss the case due to lack of incriminating evidence.

Assembly ‘stormer’ queried: The Public Prosecution on Sunday interrogated activist Ali Al-Sanad in a complaint filed by the Speaker of Parliament Jassem Al-Khorafi on the recent storming of National Assembly building, whereas Abdullah Al-Shallahi and Abdulwahab Shihab were released after interrogations on the charges of using social networking site Twitter in a related affair.
Lawyer of Al-Sanad, Hassan Al-Kandari, said he was prevented from attending the interrogation session of his client, initially conducted by detective police.
Al-Sanad had been detained upon arrival from Doha, and MP Faisal Al-Muslim describes the act as “aiming at stirring emotions”. MP Khaled Al-Tahous also warned of the abuse of power and demanded immediate release of Al-Sanad. He maintains that many people do not realize the period of oppression has ended with the fall of the former government. MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Jama’an Al-Harbash and Falah Al-Sawagh also raised similar concerns over Al-Sanad’s detention.

Row over property share:  Attorney Abdul-Mohsen Al-Qattan, who serves as counsel for a Kuwaiti man, has filed a case against his client’s ex-wife and the assistant undersecretary for Estate Registration Affairs based on the marriage contract issued by the Ja’afariyah Documentation Department and subsequent divorce.
Al-Qattan said the couple purchased a property worth KD 135,000 and the man took KD 119,000 loan to pay for the property, while the woman paid only KD 16,000. He explained his client owns only 50 percent of the property even if he paid a larger part of the total price.  He added the woman demanded half of the property’s worth after the divorce, so the man asked the court to appoint an expert to determine the shares of each party.  He supported his claim with relevant documents.

Hearing adjourned: The Administrative Court adjourned hearing on a lawsuit filed by Dr Fouad Al-Falah and Talal Al-Fahad against the minister of Social Affairs and Labor, secretary-general of the Cabinet and other officials until Jan 19, 2012.
The plaintiffs are claiming KD 500,000 each as entitlements from the litigation.  Both parties are involved in a series of cases related to the controversies surrounding the Kuwait Football Federation (KFF).

Professor reimbursed: The Administrative Court has ordered the Director General of Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) and the Chairperson of Civil Service Commission (CSC) to pay KD 14, 320 to one professor, in a lawsuit the plaintiff filed against the two authorities.
The charge sheet indicates that the defendants violated administrative regulations, trampled the rights of workers and distorted legal issues, compelling some academic and administrative members to file complaints. It indicated that 14 administrative staff sued PAAET for negligence of duty and violation of regulations. They also accused the institute of not being able to update decisions on administrative and academic supervisions while vacancies are available, which has affected the academic activities students.

76 officers promoted: Director General of Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) Major General Jassem Al-Mansouri recently issued a decision on the promotion of 76 officers from First Lieutenant to Captain.