According to the sources, the prime suspect was a senior official at the Jeddah municipality who was a director of a department before he was relieved from his post. They said he was an engineer specialized in the drainage of floodwater.

The sources said the primary suspect was accused of receiving bribes amounting to about SR5.6 million to facilitate illegal drainage projects in the district of Umm Al-Khair in east Jeddah.

The second defendant, a Syrian investor, was accused of bribing the primary suspect with SR150,000 to obtain licenses for underground water. The second defendant, a Jordanian who was working as an engineer for a contracting company, was accused of giving the primary suspect a bribe of SR60,000 in exchange for awarding his company one of the underground water projects.

The fourth defendant, also a Jordanian, was accused of giving a number of bribes to the main defendant amounting to SR180,000 to approve a delay for the completion for a project.

The sources said the primary suspect denied all the charges contained in the list compiled against him by the Prosecution and Investigation Commission (PIC).

The charges included receiving bribes to ignore the duties of his job, thus contributing to the high number of fatalities arising from the rains and floods in the districts of Umm Al-Khair and Quwaiza in east Jeddah.

According to the charges, the main defendant approved plans for the drainage of flood and rainwater though he knew very well these plans were utterly futile.

The charges said the defendant accepted projects that were not properly executed and that he abused his authority, tampered with public funds and was conducting private business while he was employed by the government.

The sources said the lawyer of the fourth defendant brought documents and photocopies of checks to prove the innocence of his client. He also asked for bringing to the court about five or six witnesses to testify in favor of his client.