Court acquits Asian expat of smuggling 6 kg hashish
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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 16: The Misdemeanor Court acquitted an Asian expatriate of trafficking 6kg of hashish from a GCC country through Kuwait International Airport for sale. The case file indicated the Public Prosecution Department charged the defendant of trafficking illicit substance after customs officers at the airport spotted the suspect in a disoriented state and went ahead to conduct thorough search of his luggage. They discovered blue substance neatly packed in two envelopes and carefully hidden inside crackers underneath his clothes, but the defendant denied ownership of the substance. In his defense, lawyer Esmat Al- Kharbutli argued in court that documents presented against her client did not contain any verifiable evidence. She explained another person gave her client the bag to be delivered to another person in Kuwait, indicating he had knowledge of the crackers only. She accused the officer of arresting her client wrongly without warrant, although the allegation was not proven beyond doubt.
E-cigarette smuggling: The Court of Cassation presided over by Judge Najib Al-Mulla acquitted an individual who was accused of smuggling banned “electronic cigarettes” based on a complaint presented to the Public Prosecution by the General Customs Department. The customs department demanded punishment based on Articles 2, 26, 16, 142, 145, 4, 5 and 150 of Law No. 10/2003, the GCC Customs Law and its executive bylaws, and Ministry of Finance’s Decision No. 30/2003 in terms of customs processes. The Court of First Instance had earlier convicted the suspect, fining him KD 100. The Court of Appeals had also dismissed the petition and upheld the verdict of the lower court. The Cassation Court responded to the defense presented by Lawyer Othman Al-Masoud who represented the suspect. He explained that the Customs Department banned imports of e-cigarettes based on instructions No. 9/2016 and No. 22/2016. However, at the time when his client imported the items, they were not yet banned, and he had no knowledge that the items would be banned.
Lawsuit dismissed: The Misdemeanor Court acquitted a Kuwaiti citizen who was accused of insulting the owner of an English school in Kuwait, based on a complaint lodged by the school administration. The court dismissed the civil lawsuit. According to the case file, the lawyer representing the owner of the school revealed that the suspect, who is the guardian of one of the students, had submitted to the school a written complaint filled with libel and slander. In the complaint, he accused the school of cheating and fraud, stressing that the school receives huge amounts of donations but it does not provide necessary educational services to his son. The defense counsel Lawyer Ali Al-Ali pointed out the binding contract between the parties and the aforementioned libel and slander lawsuit filed by the school, stressing on the lack of any incriminating conclusive evidence. He also said his client has been refuting the claims from the beginning, indicating that the plaintiff refused to register his children in the academic year, which resulted in emotional distress and affected the future of the children.
By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah Staff
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