The Jeddah Mayoralty has been ordered to pay SR79,500 in compensation to a citizen whose sewage tanker was impounded for 265 days. According to the verdict issued by the Administrative Court of the Board of Grievances, the mayoralty must also pay the complainant's legal fees. The case began when the citizen's sewage tanker was impounded by Jeddah Mayoralty following accusations that he discharged sewage in unsanctioned places. The man counter-filed a complaint at a municipality branch in Jeddah, but was told that he must pay a fine. He insisted the accusations were incorrect and that a municipality inspector report proved that the load remained inside the tanker. “I paid the minimum fine of SR3,000 but a mayoralty department refused to release the tanker and said I should pay the maximum fine of SR5,000. I had to file a complaint at the Board of Grievances because I sustained a lot of losses over the impounding of my vehicle for 265 days,” the citizen said. His legal consultant Bandar Al-Amoudi insisted that laws prevent impounding of any property without a court order. The legal consultant also demanded that his client be paid SR327,000 in compensation. The court agreed that the mayoralty should not have impounded the vehicle. It ordered that it should pay the complainant SR79,500 — SR300 for each day the vehicle was impounded. The court has now given the mayoralty 30 days to challenge the verdict. __
