MADINAH: A court in Madinah sent 21 people to jail Wednesday for involvement in fraud and bribery. The convict included employees of the Passport Department and a number of residents.
Three employees of the Passport Department were sentenced to two years in prison each, while 18 residents were jailed for a year each. Nineteen Passport Department employees were acquitted for lack of proof.
The case came to light a few months ago when a resident was surprised to find people he did not know registered as his dependents. On investigation, the authorities found the involvement of 22 staff members from the Madinah Passport Department as well as male and female expats.
The investigations also indicated that some “moaqebs” (middlemen) were involved in the case. In addition, there were other staff members and expats who took large amounts of money in order to complete the transactions illegally, leading to the arrest of the defendants including a father who used his daughter’s names in the fraudulent activities. He was released on a court’s order four months later.
The Passport Department’s defendants denied all charges, which included changing a girl’s gender from female to male at the Civil Status Department. The defendants claimed that some names could be given to either a male or a female, which caused a confusion to them. Hence they changed the status.
The defendants' lawyers rejected the primary verdict. The court gave the lawyers 30 days to appeal the ruling.
Three employees of the Passport Department were sentenced to two years in prison each, while 18 residents were jailed for a year each. Nineteen Passport Department employees were acquitted for lack of proof.
The case came to light a few months ago when a resident was surprised to find people he did not know registered as his dependents. On investigation, the authorities found the involvement of 22 staff members from the Madinah Passport Department as well as male and female expats.
The investigations also indicated that some “moaqebs” (middlemen) were involved in the case. In addition, there were other staff members and expats who took large amounts of money in order to complete the transactions illegally, leading to the arrest of the defendants including a father who used his daughter’s names in the fraudulent activities. He was released on a court’s order four months later.
The Passport Department’s defendants denied all charges, which included changing a girl’s gender from female to male at the Civil Status Department. The defendants claimed that some names could be given to either a male or a female, which caused a confusion to them. Hence they changed the status.
The defendants' lawyers rejected the primary verdict. The court gave the lawyers 30 days to appeal the ruling.
