The Bureau of Grievances resumed on Monday the trial of four people accused of corruption in the Jeddah flood case. The first individual, who was an adviser to a former Jeddah Mayor, was accused of arranging for his suspended colleague, who is the second person involved in the case, to receive a SR200,000 bribe. He also asked the third accused person, who is a businessman, to pay him SR2 million in the form of a donation to a firm called the Business Center for VIP Services, which the Jeddah Mayoralty was in the process of setting up. When asked why the SR2 million were not spent on setting up the center, the advisor said the money went into flood projects. He told the court that he went on the record and presented all of the facts on a TV show that was to be broadcast on Saudi TV. However, he was surprised when the show never aired. The second accused person denied receiving a SR200,000 bribe and said he only approved the sale of several plots of land that belonged to the fourth accused person after ensuring that it had been signed by the respective adviser and the official in charge at the department of urban planning. The third accused person said he previously confessed under duress and that he had not offered a bribe to the Jeddah Mayoralty's adviser (the first accused). He said he paid the SR2 million as a donation to the business center but the check was made out to Jeddah Mayoralty. The fourth person involved in the case, who is the owner of the plots of land, said the transaction, which he filed at Jeddah Mayoralty, was approved by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. This, he said, was clear evidence that he did not pay a bribe to the second accused person. The court to adjourned the case until May 29. __
