Number of cases ‘tied’ to trade misdemeanor up by 80 percent – Authorities working relentlessly to fight graft

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KUWAIT CITY, May 22: Statistics for first quarter of 2017 on cases with the Public Prosecution revealed a drop in cases related to infringement on others’ wealth by 68 percent. However, there has been an increase in the number of cases related to trade misdemeanor, especially “spoiled foodstuff”, by 80 percent compared to the same period last year, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Sources privy to the statistics are not convinced that the increase in cases pertaining to “spoiled foodstuff” is largely due to the increase in issuance of commercial and trade licenses. They explained that the concerned authorities are working relentlessly to fight corruption, but despite their efforts, the cases are increasing. According to the statistics, 90 percent of the cases related to “spoiled foodstuff” are referred to the Criminal Court.

Only ten percent are dismissed over lack of evidences, which means majority of the violation citations are accurately issued. However, the penalties so far have not been tough enough on the offenders. Nonetheless, there is a need to toughen the law before new laws are prepared by members of the National Assembly.

The statistics indicated that the Public Prosecution works relentlessly to carry out investigations in such cases as quickly as possible. The rate of completion is about 98.6 percent for cases related to commercial misdemeanor.

Out of 700 cases referred to the Public Prosecution, 12 cases were handled at the same time during the first three months of this year. Regarding cases related to “cheques”, the figures show that the number of cheque fraud cases has dropped by 10 percent, reaching 300 cases. More than 90 percent of them have been referred to the Criminal Court, while eight percent have been retained due to non-completion of investigations.

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