Kuwaiti citizen acquitted of fraud, robbing woman

KUWAIT CITY, July 19: The Criminal Court acquitted a citizen of fraud and stealing KD23,500 from a woman, reports Al-Seyassah daily. The Public Prosecution charged the defendant with deceiving the woman by claiming that he wanted to marry her. He then persuaded her to invest in a stock market project to generate substantial profits. The woman believed him, borrowed money from a bank and handed it over to him. The prosecution demanded a harsher penalty, because the defendant was previously convicted in a similar crime. During the trial, the defendant’s lawyer, Attorney Ayed Al-Rashidi, argued there were no elements of fraud, asserting that fraudulent methods, as defined in the Penal Code, were not used. He added the victim’s testimony did not include proof that the defendant used fraudulent methods, as it was limited to his claim about an investment project. The court made clear that the evidence did not reach the level of certainty, which is required to convict the accused. It added that the decision to impose penalty is not based on flimsy evidence.