Exam paper leak verdict reversed: Kuwaiti engineer and Syrian walk free after appeal

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KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17: In a recent verdict, the Court of Appeal, presided over by Counselor Nasr Salem Al-Heid, has acquitted a citizen engineer employed in the Ministry of Electricity and a Syrian expatriate, overturning their previous 10-year convictions and a fine of 241,000 dinars on both individuals in connection with the case involving the leaking of high school exams on social networking sites.

The Public Prosecution had initially accused the citizen engineer of divulging Ministry of Education secrets by disseminating high school exams, complete with correct answers, on social media platforms. Allegedly, this information was shared in exchange for a sum exceeding 241,000 dinars, obtained by the Syrian expatriate, who was implicated as one of the beneficiaries of the fraudulent activity. Both defendants were further charged with money laundering. Investigative findings suggested that the accused individuals sold corrected exams for prices ranging from 25 to 50 dinars per subject.

The Criminal Court had previously sentenced the pair to a 10-year imprisonment term and a fine of 241,000 dinars. Additionally, the Syrian expatriate was slated for deportation after serving the imposed penalty. However, during the appeal process, the defendants refuted the accusations and, through their legal representation, sought acquittal and leniency.

Despite the appeal court’s refusal to suspend the execution of the sentence and the defendants’ release, a recent development saw the Court of Appeal reserving judgment. Subsequently, the court acquitted the defendants, citing insufficiency and unreasonableness of evidence, and the inapplicability of charges related to divulging secrets and leaking tests. The court highlighted that students acquired the leaked exams from unidentified sources after the distribution process in the committees. Moreover, it was emphasized that the citizen engineer, the primary accused, holds an engineering degree and provides private lessons to university students. The funds seized from the accused were determined to be associated with these educational sessions.

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