The Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Nasr Salem Al Hayd, overturned the Criminal Court’s decision to refrain from issuing verdict against a Bangladeshi and then sentenced the latter to five years in prison with hard labor for molesting a minor.

According to the case file, the guardian of the minor filed a complaint accusing the defendant, who operated a grocery shop, of luring his daughter into the shop and molested her, but the defendant denied it.

The Criminal Court refrained from issuing a verdict, but the Public Prosecution appealed. Also, the Court of Appeals decided to start hearing of an embezzlement case involving a Russian woman, a businessman and a former minister on Jan 16.

The Criminal Court sentenced the businessman and his Russian assistant to 15 years in prison with hard labor, in addition to obliging the Russian to return KD719,000 and KD350,000 for the company’s board chairman.

The court also fined the defendants KD2,138,000 while the former minister and vice chairman of the board were acquitted of facilitating the embezzlement of public funds. The lawyers of those convicted intend to request for suspension of implementation of the verdict and to post bail, while the prosecution will challenge the decision to exonerate the defendants of some charges filed against them.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies