JEDDAH: The Ministry of Justice is to consider a complete review of the manner in which title deeds are handled to plug loopholes that can be used by criminals to commit fraud. This is according to informed sources and comes in the wake of the Administrative Court sentencing six people, including two notaries public and an employee in a notary public office, to jail terms ranging between three and five years here Saturday. The court acquitted a judge, two notaries public and three others of corruption charges in the SR600 million Thuwal land scam. The court issued its verdict with penalties totaling 25 years in prison. The source said Monday that the ministry distanced itself from those found guilty and said this did not mean all justice staff are corrupt. “The mistakes committed by notaries public are by individuals and do not represent the ministry, which is concerned that all transactions should be monitored and supervised to ensure that they are lawful. The violation by any notary public does not mean that the rest of the notaries public, who have won the confidence of officials, are the same as the violating notary public.” The source said the ministry is now going to review all the regulations and directives involved in the handling of title deeds and land claims. The source added that the ministry wants to issue a warning that people should not be considered guilty until investigations and court cases are completed, referring to the acquittal of a judge, two notaries public and three other ministry employees. A source has also told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the Prosecutor General at the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) is preparing to object against all the verdicts because the sentences are considered too lenient and that the others should not have been acquitted. Objection documents have to be submitted within a month after a court verdict is issued. “The prosecution will present the objection documents to the same court, which in turn will refer them to the Administrative Appeals Court,” said the source. Twelve people had been charged in connection with the forged title deed for the SR600 million piece of land in Thuwal, located north of Jeddah. The accused were trying to get SR1.2 billion in compensation for the 2.5-million-square-meter piece of land that was appropriated for vital public projects. The court sentenced one notary public to five years after convicting him of bribery, forgery, abuse of power and making money from his government job. A second notary public was sentenced to four years behind bars after also being convicted of bribery, abuse of power, and making money from his government job. A businessman was sentenced to four years in jail for bribery and forgery. The owner of the land, an employee in the Notary Public Office, and an attorney who acted as a middleman in the transactions each got three-year sentences. The verdicts also included confiscating the amounts received in bribes. Those who were sentenced to jail have decided to appeal the verdicts. Under the law, sentences for bribery and forgery range from one to 10 years, depending on the number of charges.
