The session, which was held on Tuesday, was opened for the media. The court did not fix a new date for the announcement of its verdict, local daily Al-Madinah reported Wednesday.
Court sources said the attorney general presented 17 memorandums refuting the replies of the accused during the previous court sessions. He also presented new evidence incriminating the suspects.
The accused are two Jordanians, a Syrian and a Saudi who held a leading position in the Jeddah municipality before he was sacked. They backed off from their previous confessions claiming these were taken from them against their will.
When the judge on the case told them that the judge, who documented their confessions, did not coerce them to say anything against their will, they agreed. However, they said the judge came to them while they were in prison with the investigators. They also claimed that they were under immense pressure from their families and the media.
The accused further claimed that their living conditions had been unhealthy, especially after rumors about the sudden death of one of them. They told the judge they had been ready to say anything just to get the investigations over and done with.
During the session, one of the defendants admitted to having received SR60 million from another suspect. He said this was not a bribe but a commission he obtained for providing data about a piece of land, which was later sold at SR600 million. "This is my legitimate 10 percent commission, not a bribe," he told the court.
The Saudi defendant denied that he had received 22 pieces of land as grants from the government. He, however, admitted he had only received land grants for himself, his wife and two of his sons.
"The other pieces of land were given to some of my relatives in a legal manner and I am not responsible for them," he claimed.
When the judge asked the accused if it was all right for him to receive too many land grants, while other people had been waiting for long years without getting anything, the defendant said he was not responsible for the distribution of the land grants.
