Expats serving sheesha to juveniles face deportation

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb 4: Expatriates who are proven to have served sheesha and its derivatives to minors (youths under the age of 21 years) in sheesha cafés will be subjected to deportation and the owners of those cafés will be referred for investigations.

In a press statement issued by Ministry of Interior, the General Department of Public Relations and Security Media revealed that the abovementioned decision was declared recently by the Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior Lieutenant General Sulaiman Al-Fahad.

The undersecretary affirmed that the State of Kuwait is one of the first signatory countries of the Convention concerning the Rights of the Child in 1991 within the framework of the United Nations to guarantee the rights of children. Lieutenant General Al-Fahad highlighted the fact that juveniles are an inseparable part of the society and can neither be neglected nor ignored. He stressed the commitment of security institutions to protect the rights of children and young individuals as well as provide for them opportunities to grow mentally, morally, physically, socially and spiritually in a proper and natural environment.

Lieutenant General Al-Fahad highlighted the directives issued by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah in this regard, through which the minister emphasized the need to adhere to this principle in order to protect the children of the society. He explained that Article No. 21/2015 concerning the rights of children affirms the importance of protecting children from any risks and explains the cases that are assumed to be risky for children, including health risks. Considering this aspect, sheesha has severe negative effects on children.

Lieutenant General Al-Fahad also stressed that Law No. 15/1995 concerning fight against smoking prohibits selling or providing all types of tobacco and its derivatives to anyone under the age of 21 years. The penalty for such offenses is a fine of KD 50, which doubles for every repeated offense or for breach of the first and second articles of this law.

Lieutenant General Al-Fahad urged parents (both citizens and expatriates) to monitor their children’s activities in order to protect them from wrongful indulgence that could result in undesirable consequences. He also urged them not to hesitate in reporting any café or restaurant that violates the rights of children, through the ministry’s hotline 112 or at the nearest police station so that the issue can be referred to the concerned security department and necessary legal measures can be taken.

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