28/09/2018
28/09/2018
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 27: The Court of Appeals presided over by Judge Nasser Salem Al-Heid has referred to the Public Prosecution the two cases “embezzlement of funds in Ministry of Health” and “fingerprint forgery in Ministry of Electricity and Water”. The “embezzlement of funds in Ministry of Health” case was referred for questioning the former undersecretary of the ministry about his signature on the letter he was given by the accused official and to ascertain the authenticity of the signature. The Public Prosecution will start its procedures in this regard in order to submit its report on Oct 31. The Criminal Court had previously ruled to acquit a former undersecretary, his son and a director of the company accused of embezzling public funds. It convicted one of the officials of embezzlement, obliged him to pay KD 72,000 to a company, discharged him from his duties and imposed a fine of KD 144,000. The court had based its judgment on lack of concrete evidences against the three accused. The Public Prosecution had referred the case to the court after receiving a report from Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority against the suspects, accusing them of expropriating KD 117,000 and forging official documents and bank papers, but they denied the accusations. Regarding the case of forging work attendance fingerprints and receiving salaries and wages undeservedly filed against 35 employees of Ministry of Electricity and Water, the court ruled the lapse of criminal case for one of the accused due to his death and referred the rest of the suspects to the Public Prosecution, which is required to refer them to the Criminal Investigations to match the fingerprints of the accused with the silicon fingerprint molds, and check whether they belongs to them. Decision upheld: The Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the First Instance Court that obligated two companies to pay KD 33,000 to settle bills in favor of a meat supplier. Previously, the First Instance Court instructed one of the companies to pay KD 29,287 and the other should pay KD 3,700. The defendants appealed the decision claiming that a number of bills were signed by individuals who do not work in any of the two companies. Attorney Mubarak Al-Khashab, who represented the plaintiff in court, argued that the defendants did not provide evidence to support their claims. Hearing adjourned: The Criminal Court presided over by Judge Abdullah Al-Othman Wednesday adjourned to early November the case filed against an Egyptian expatriate who is accused of accrediting forged higher education certificates. During the court session, the defendant and his lawyer were present and they listened to the testimony given by detective officer which lasted for about three continuous hours. The accused denied all the charges leveled against him, declaring that his responsibility was to handle certificates of foreigners, not citizens. KD 5.5 m funds scam: The Criminal Court presided over by Judge Ahmad Al-Yasin Wednesday adjourned to October 24 the case filed against 32 individuals who were accused of facilitating misappropriation of public funds to the tune of KD 5.5 million in the Jaber Stadium tender. About 31 government officials from Ministry of Public Works and Public Authority for Youth and Sports as well as the project contractor are implicated in the case. Initially, the total number of government officials implicated in the case was 37 but six of the accused have been exonerated.