The Jeddah District Court started Monday the first trials of those accused of wrongdoing in connection with the city's 2009 flood disaster. The defendants are charged with administrative and financial corruption, abuse of office and using their positions to make profits. Sources told Al-Hayat Arabic daily a day earlier that a well-known figure at the Jeddah Mayoralty is set to appear before the court on several charges leveled against him by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) including killing innocent people and causing damage to public and private property. Prior to the trial, sources said the court will first read the defendant the list of charges against him and set another date for the trial in order to give him time to respond to the charges. The other three defendants were also set for trial on Monday. Sources said some defendants are using lawyers to defend them and respond to the charges. The court will study the cases, review all pertinent documents and hear the statements of witnesses and members of committees which investigated the Jeddah flood catastrophe. __
