JEDDAH — The Administrative Court in Jeddah is to complete looking on Monday into bribery and forgery charges against seven accused — two suspended Jeddah municipality officials, two expatriates and three businessmen — in the Jeddah flood disaster case. The Control and Investigation Board (CIB) has charged a former top municipality official with accepting about SR5.64 million in bribes. The official, violating the rules, allegedly approved a study on solutions for rain and floodwater drainage in a number of planned districts and locations in Jeddah. The official is also accused of neglecting the high temperature of concrete and making haste in testing the concrete by one of the laboratories. This project was being carried out by one of the contracting companies simultaneously with projects for protection from flood hazards. Apart from these, he facilitated transactions for a contractor at Jeddah municipality in maintenance of a rainwater drainage network in southern and eastern Jeddah. He was also accused of receiving other bribes in return for conducting traffic studies for some investors and a number of engineering offices. He issued permits for pumping water for several companies and approved extention of the project for lowering water table in the districts of Braiman, Al-Samer, Jamea and Al-Faiha. Besides, the official is also accused of not recommending the withdrawal of the project from the company despite the inordinate delay it took to complete the projects. He was also charged with involvement in the bad execution of the drainage network on Palestine Street.
