The General Court in Jeddah witnessed a limited response Monday from people who are entitled to SR1 million compensation checks King Abdullah ordered for families of people who lost their lives in the Jeddah flood disaster. The first people arrived after 12 noon and only 12 requests were referred to judges in preparation for issuing the checks. One woman among those seeking the checks was deeply saddened by her loss. The woman, who is her 50s, repeatedly prayed for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Tears flowed from her eyes before she could speak about the deceased person's children. She recalled how he was living among them before his death and how he healed their wounds with his jolly nature and laughter. The woman said she would give some of the money to charity and use the rest to buy a house for the children. The disaster occurred on Nov. 25, 2009 when more than 90 millimeters of rain, almost twice the city's annual average, fell in four hours. Some published reports blamed shortcomings with the city's sewage system for the disaster. About 125 people died and almost 11,000 buildings and 11,000 cars were destroyed. Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Qanni, president of the General Court in Jeddah said, “The checks are ready to be handed over and they will be done immediately. The court has not witnessed any crowding because the transactions were divided among 25 judges with the aim of expediting the procedures.” “I hope the checks would be distributed to all their owners before the Eid Al-Fitr holidays. Every person who is entitled to a check will be given a SR1 million check drawn from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency,” Al-Qanni added. He pointed out that the checks will be kept at the General Court until they are picked up by those who are entitled to receive them. Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, Director of the General Court, said Monday that the court has not started distributing the checks, but it has referred more than 10 requests to be evaluated. Al-Ghamdi pointed out that people must bring the required documents including the original identity card, original death certificate, deed for inheritance claim, guardianship deed for minors, a letter of attorney from the inheritors and any other documents the judge might require. Omar Al-Khouli, professor of Law at King Abdulaziz University, said it has been agreed that the payments should be considered blood money, as rules of inheritance applies to them. He said that in each case, the SR1 million would be distributed among the deceased's legal inheritors, with each share specified by the Shariah. Beneficiaries will not be able to cash checks at the SAMA unless they have a Shariah letter of attorney from the inheritors authorizing them to cash the check on behalf of the inheritors. Al-Khouli drew attention to the fact that people can open a joint account in the name of the inheritors in which the check can be deposited and the bank will give each inheritor his share according to the Shariah. “The bank would pay the share according to the Shariah to the beneficiaries on the basis of a letter from the court or one of the law offices,” he said. “It should specify each inheritor's share from the dead person's estate.”
