The Hail Administrative Court has sentenced a former director of the Department of Education here to five years in prison for corruption.

He was one of 16 defendants fined and sentenced in a corruption case involving the education department. The defendants were ordered to return sums amounting to SR 7.2 million and pay fines totaling SR 680,000.

A total of 19 defendants involved in the case were cleared of all charges.

The court rulings included an assistant education director for educational services who was sentenced to seven years in prison, a SR 120,000 fine and ordered to return SR 5.9 million.

The court also ruled against a former assistant education director for educational affairs who was fined SR 10,000.

The court gave a six-year prison sentence to a supervision and execution director who was fined SR 150,000 and ordered to return SR 1.2 million.

A maintenance director was sentenced to two years in prison and fined SR 20,000; an administrative and financial affairs director received a six-month sentence with a fine of SR 20,000; a purchases director received a sentence of one year in prison and a SR 20,000 fine; a director-general’s office manager received a six-month jail sentence and a SR 20,000 fine; and a director of educational information received a one-year sentence and a SR 20,000 fine. One foreign contractor received a two-year sentence and a SR 20,000 fine, another foreign contractor received one year in prison and a SR 30,000 fine, and a third foreign contractor received a one-year prison sentence and a fine of SR20,000.

The defendants objected to the sentences and will appeal.

The Hail education corruption case has attracted a great deal of public interest in the recent past. It was probed by administrative investigators and the Control and Investigation Board before being referred to the Administrative Court. A total of 34 people were charged including senior officials and foreign contractors.