Last week I read a strange story in Al-Madinah newspaper.
A man took a second wife but after living with her for a while decided to divorce her. She was pregnant at the time and later gave birth to a son. The man recognized his son and registered him as such. So far everything was normal.
Five years later the man was surprised to receive a court summons informing him that another son of his second wife’s claimed that he was also the man’s son and demanded his legal rights. The man appeared in court and denied that the plaintiff (his second wife’s first son) was his biological son.
The judge ruled against him and found for the plaintiff. He also sentenced the man to six months in prison and 150 lashes. The sentence was duly executed and after six months the man was released. A DNA test was subsequently performed on the man who claimed to be the son, which proved conclusively that he was not. Actually, the plaintiff was the second wife’s son from a previous marriage.
I could, of course, use many words here — such as incompetence, carelessness or negligence — but I will use none. I will only ask: Why did the judge not order a DNA test before passing sentence on the unfortunate man? This test is widely available in most large government hospitals throughout the Kingdom.
The man has published his story in the newspaper in the hope, apparently, that his case will be re-examined by the authorities and some restitution will be made to him for the suffering he had gone through.
My ancient Arabian ancestors have words to describe this situation; I will quote a few: “When hell freezes over!” “Pigs might fly!” “Ha, Ha, Ha...!” You get the idea.
In our society no one provides restitution for injuries done except the weak to the strong, women to men, the poor to the rich, and so on.
This is a poor man who has neither millions of riyals nor an important position in the government or private sector. Nor does he belong to a powerful tribe or family; so he is what we in Saudi Arabia call “easy meat”. God help anyone who is easy meat in this country.
Why does the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Council of Judges not require all judges in cases such as this to perform a DNA test before passing sentence? Why do the courts persist in resisting evidence provided by modern scientific methods? Great strides have been made, especially in forensic medicine, which should become part of our judicial procedures.
Why the rush to condemn this man and distribute punishment like sweets? I ask you, dear readers, if this man was a high official or a millionaire, would the judge have sentenced him with the same harshness? Would he have ignored a DNA test?
