Kuwait: Policeman gets 5 years in jail for framing expats
Defendant charged with job exploitation and receiving bribes
Cairo: A Kuwaiti court has sentenced a policeman to five years in prison on charges of bribery and abuse of power to frame and deport expatriates, according to a media report.
The Al Seyassah newspaper reported that the criminal court also ordered the policeman, a Kuwaiti national, to pay a fine of KD 2,000 ($6,503).
The defendant was accused of exploiting his position at a police station by demanding bribes and blackmailing Asian expatriates by allegedly fabricated charges of alcohol trafficking against them and detained them unlawfully.
The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry previously stated that the officer had been arrested for abusing his authority and accepting bribes in exchange for detaining members of the Asian community and deporting them based on false charges of alcohol trafficking.
Earlier this month, in a separate case, prosecutors ordered the detention of nine individuals, including three Kuwaitis and six foreigners, for allegedly fabricating a drug possession case against an expatriate.
The group reportedly planted drugs in the victim's car and falsified official documents, according to a statement from the Kuwaiti public prosecution. Among the accused were two personnel from the Interior Ministry, who allegedly acted on orders from a superior officer. The two stopped the victim after an accomplice had planted the drugs in his car.
Kuwaiti media reported that Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Defence, Fahd Al Yousef, ordered the dismissal of the officer and the two soldiers involved in the case.
Other individuals implicated in the fabrication case included the victim's ex-wife.