The general court in Khobar has ordered Aramco, the giant oil company, to pay SR1 million (about $266,000) for causing the death of a prized female camel last year. The heartbroken owner of the camel, Abdullah Al-Sairi, filed the lawsuit against Aramco last year after his three-year-old black camel fell into a hole in the desert that Aramco had dug and filled with crude oil. This incident took place while the female camel was grazing some 150 miles (250km) west of Ahsa. Apparently there was no protective boundary around the large hole to prevent an accident and the black she-camel fell into it and died. The female camel had previously entered the Camel Beauty Contest, a traditionally contested gathering where camel breeders from all over the Kingdom show off their most eye-catching beasts. The court based its compensation on price quotations from the contest administration headed by Prince Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Jelwi. The lawyer of the company intends to appeal the verdict with the Court of Cassation.
