Gulf | Bahrain

Manager fined and jailed for trying to bribe minister

A cleaning company manager accused of trying to bribe a newly-appointed minister has been jailed for three years and has been fined 5,000 Bahraini dinars (Dh48,726.5).

  • By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
  • Published: 17:11 November 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

Manama: A cleaning company manager accused of trying to bribe a newly-appointed minister has been jailed for three years and has been fined 5,000 Bahraini dinars (Dh48,726.5).

The verdict was announced by the Lower Criminal Court after it rejected pleas by the accused that his intention had been misunderstood.

The manager was arrested after Municipalities and Agriculture Minister Dr Juma Al Ka'abi, days into his new posting following a limited cabinet reshuffle, reported to the police that he had been offered 14,500 dinars and a gift.

According to the court papers, the accused went up to the house of the minister, but was unable to meet him after his son told him that he was at the mosque for the Friday prayers.

The accused left an envelope containing the money, a box of chocolates and his business card with the maid. Upon his return, the minister phoned the public prosecutor to report the alleged bribery attempt and a preliminary investigation resulted in the arrest and the confiscation of the cash and gift.

However, the accused said during the investigation that he was not trying to influence the new minister, and that his gift was a token of appreciation as he wanted to wish him luck in his new position.

Appeal plan

Abdullah Al Shamlawi, the manager's lawyer, insisted that his client did not have any ill intentions and that they would appeal the court decision.

According to prosecutor Wael Bu Allay, the verdict was an indication of the public prosecution readiness to battle corruption.

"Our mission is to fight all forms of corruption within society since it is a terrible threat to the economy. We will have a zero-tolerance towards abusing public positions under any name and we extend a hand to cooperate with anyone and any formation in order to protect the people and the institutions," he said.

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