Persons facing accusations over the Jeddah flood disaster will have their cases taken over by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) and the Control and Investigation Board (CIB) within two weeks, informed sources have said. Administrative investigators are currently completing their investigations ahead of passing on the files to the two bodies, whose jurisdictions cover non-government crimes and administrative crimes on the part of government employees respectively. The sources said that administrative crimes by government employees constituted approximately 70 percent of the cases, and once dealt with by the CIB will be heard at penal circuits at the Administrative Court. The remaining 30 percent concern businessmen and contractors in non-government employment, and their cases will go from the BIP to the District and Public Courts. According to the sources, the two authorities will order the detention of all suspects who have been freed on bail and the accused will be permitted to have lawyers present during investigations. The process, they said, could take several months as the Bureau and Board, upon taking up the cases, will resume investigations from the beginning. Investigators from various government departments are expected to be brought in to accelerate progress. The investigation process will be conducted in Jeddah and each individual will be presented with his own list of charges.
