JEDDAH — The Administrative Court of Appeals has acquitted 12 out of 16 people who were accused of involvement in the Jeddah rain and flood disaster of November 2009 but sentenced a senior official in the Ministry of Water to four years in prison and fined him SR300,000 after charging him with accepting bribes. Court sources said the acquitted defendants included senior officials and CEOs of big companies and engineering consultancy firms. They said the court dismissed the charges against an Egyptian and a Turkish defendant because they traveled out of the Kingdom after being released on bail. The sources said the court had strong evidence that the defendant, who was charged with accepting bribes, had received cars and cash money in bribes. They said he used part of the bribe money to buy an apartment in Alexandria. The court sentenced an official in a private company to a year in prison and fined him SR100,000 for accepting bribes. The sources said the court, which held 35 sessions in four years has acquitted a Jordanian, an Egyptian and a Lebanese expatriates from the charges of forgery. They said the court has also acquitted two Saudis, two Lebanese, Two Jordanians, three Egyptians, an Eritrean, a Canadian and a New Zealand national from the charges of bribery.
