Abdulrahman Al-Ali Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The former head of a branch municipality has denied abusing his power to obtain plots of land illegally, a court has heard. He told the Administrative Court in Jeddah on Sunday that he had bought the plots legitimately and that he had not encroached on them. He said he held official title deeds for them. The official was implicated during investigations into the Jeddah floods of 2009 and 2011. The defendant admitted that the plots of land that he bought were located within the Dhahban municipality that he used to head. The municipality includes the well-known Obhur area on the Jeddah coast. He said he bought the 11 plots of land under his name using funds from his family's company that he heads and paid market prices for them. He said the purpose was to invest in them and none of the plots has been sold until now. The official said he paid by the square meter, as is usually the norm. The public prosecutor said the defendant had initially admitted the charges against him. The court had attested these confessions, which included facts that only the defendant would have known. The defendant headed his family's company on behalf of his brother who was looking after their sick mother, the prosecution told the court. He managed to obtain the funds from the company and claimed in court that he did not know this was not allowed for a government employee, the prosecutor added. He also obtained official power of attorney according to his earlier statements, the court heard. The prosecutor said this proves the defendant abused his power to obtain plots of land in the area he was working in. At the end of the hearing, the judge gave the defendant one last chance to provide proof of his innocence. He asked the defendant to bring a businessman who he claimed was his partner to testify on his behalf. The defendant promised to bring the witness. In response, the court decided to adjourn the case until Dec. 3 to issue its verdict. The court also witnessed the first hearing of the trial of a notary public, two employees in a notary public office and two businessmen, who were accused of forging official documents from the Notary Public Register in Jeddah. They were also implicated in investigations into the Jeddah floods. The notary public was absent from the hearing and the judge said if he did not attend the next session he would be summoned by force. The first notary public employee said he could not prepare a reply to the charges leveled by the prosecutor and requested more time. The third defendant, one of the businessmen, also requested more time to reply to the charges. The court decided to adjourn the case until Dec. 4.
