Manama: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef on Tuesday gave orders that the car drifter who caused the death of his passenger would not benefit from any pardon and that he would serve the court sentence fully without any possibility of parole.
A court in the Saudi capital Riyadh in March sentenced the man who refers to himself as ‘King Al Nadheem’ to six years in jail and to 600 lashes after it found him guilty of putting people’s lives at risk through drifting, causing the death of a passenger in an accident as he was drifting, assuming the identity of his brother to avoid arrest and hurting a policeman while resisting arrest.
The Riyadh police said they would be “extremely strict with anyone who engages in such practices.” They added that the sentence against the drifter is being implemented.
Prince Mohammad, also Saudi Arabia’s interior minister, is well known for supporting a strict policy towards breaking the law.
His statement on Tuesday is seen as the answer to possible interventions to help ease the jail sentence or the lashes for the drifter.
King Al Nadheem has often posted video clips of his drifting adventures on social media, drawing applause from some young people, but mainly anger and calls for punishment from people who have rejected his dangerous actions on the country’s roads.
Road drifting — Tafheet in colloquial Saudi Arabic — is popular among the young in Saudi Arabia despite regular attempts by the authorities to eliminate or curb the dangerous phenomenon.
