KUWAIT CITY, Jan 11: The Court of Cassation ordered the suspension of the prison sentence issued against a citizen and a number of expatriates in the Manqaf fire case, on manslaughter and other charges, pending consideration of the appeals against the ruling.

The court also ruled to stay the custodial sentence and replace it with a fine of KD5,000. In addition, it annulled the decision of the Appeals Court that sentenced businessman Mohammad Nasser Al- Badah, Director of Al-Badah Company, to one year imprisonment with hard labor, while examining the appeal filed by his lawyer, Attorney Sultan Hamad Al-Ajmi. Previously, the Appeals Court revised several of the rulings, reducing the sentence of a number of defendants to one year of imprisonment with hard labor, instead of three years. It also imposed three-year prison sentence with hard labor on three defendants for manslaughter, sentenced two others to one year of imprisonment with hard labor for perjury, and sentenced four defendants to one year of imprisonment with hard labor for harboring a fugitive. Al-Ajmi submitted an appeal to the Court of Cassation based on multiple legal grounds, such as misapplication of the law, errors in attribution, and shortcomings and flaws in the reasoning underlying the judgment.

He stressed that the constituent elements of the crime were not present in his client’s case and that the conviction issued by the Appeals Court was invalid. Earlier, the Public Prosecution referred the case file to the General Department of Investigations at the Ministry of Interior, categorizing the incident as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. This classification was based on technical reports, which concluded the fire was accidental and did not result from an intentional act.

The case dates back to June of last year, when a major fire erupted in a building used to house workers in Manqaf. The blaze led to the death of 49 workers and injured a comparable number -- mostly Indian nationals. The incident was among the most serious the country experienced in recent years. The defendants faced charges including manslaughter, perjury, negligence, facilitating the escape of fugitives, and causing injury through negligence.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff