Two Kuwaitis Walk Free After Court Acquits Them of Manslaughter, Negligence Charges

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 30 : The Misdemeanor Court of the Court of First Instance has acquitted two Kuwaiti citizens of charges of manslaughter and negligence in the care of a disabled person in connection with the drowning death of an Arab expat.

According to the case presented by the Public Prosecution, the defendants were accused of unintentionally causing the man's death through negligence and failure to take necessary precautions after leaving him near the shore without ensuring he reached the other side. The prosecution alleged that the victim could not swim and subsequently drowned.

During the investigation, the investigating officer testified that there was no criminal suspicion, concluding that the death appeared to have resulted from drowning, in accordance with the forensic report. The victim had reportedly accompanied the defendants on a short boat trip before they dropped him off at what they believed was a safe location.

The court said it had doubts about the validity of the charges, particularly in light of the defendants' continued denial and the criminal investigation's finding that no criminal suspicion or evidence established that the defendants caused the death through negligence or lack of caution. The court therefore acquitted them under Article 172 of the Criminal Procedures and Trials Law.

Defense lawyer Jarrah Al-Malik argued that the elements of the alleged offences were not established and that his clients had taken the necessary precautions, with no causal connection between their actions and the drowning.

Al-Malik said the victim had asked the defendants to take him to Al-Hala near the Fintas roundabout, and that they had no previous acquaintance with him. According to the defense, when the defendants asked whether he could swim, he said that he could. They then dropped him off at a location where the water level was low enough for him to stand.

The lawyer also pointed to the forensic and medical reports, which found no signs of assault on the victim's body. The limited injuries recorded were described as abrasions caused by contact with sea rocks, while his clothes were found intact.