JIP corruption: 3 officials jailed, fined

Three Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) officials were sentenced to jail terms and fines for falsely recording that malfunctioning containers at the port were in good working order. They had done so to benefit a company that leased these containers.
The Third Circuit of the Jeddah Administrative Court, upholding the verdicts of previous courts, found the first defendant guilty of falsifying records and wasting public money, and sentenced him to one year in jail and a fine of SR 30,000.
The second defendant was also found guilty of wasting public money, and was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of SR 10,000. The third defendant, a Filipino, was found guilty of falsifying records, and was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of SR 1,000.
The court decided to suspend the case against the fourth defendant who had left the country before the case was filed. The court also decided to withhold the jail sentences of the first and third defendants. The defendants, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling and said that far from wasting public money, they had in fact earned SR 60 million for JIP.
The second defendant rebutted the ruling stating that the money paid was from the company and not public money. The third defendant said he knew that the equipment was malfunctioning but he was under pressure from his boss, a Gulf national.
Reacting to the ruling, Sahir Tahlawi, director general of JIP, told Arab News that the ruling was first of its kind. “These persons were sentenced two or three years ago, but the ruling was struck down by the Supreme Commission. They will appeal against the ruling again. This is an old case that has been in the courtrooms for more than five years.”
He said the workers were honest but he respected the court's decision.