KUWAIT CITY, May 21: The Court of Appeal, presided over by Counselor Nasr Salem Al-Haid and comprising Counselors Saud Al-Sanea and Tariq Metwally, sentenced a Kuwaiti citizen to seven years in prison for smuggling over 28,000 bottles of alcohol from Vietnam, while acquitting the remaining defendants in the case.

The Public Prosecution had charged five individuals with illegally importing beer for selling in Kuwait, in violation of Kuwaiti law and without paying the necessary customs duties. According to the testimony of a customs inspector, the incident began when a container arriving from Vietnam was declared to contain energy drinks. Upon inspection, however, the officer discovered cardboard boxes labeled as energy drinks that concealed cans of alcoholic beer. The container was then sealed, and a coordinated operation with the anti-narcotics department led to an ambush. The primary suspect, identified as the owner of the company receiving the shipment, was arrested. The second and third suspects were later summoned and confessed to importing alcohol from Vietnam, revealing that the primary accused had been engaged in similar activities for several years.

KUWAIT CITY, May 21: Firefighters from the Hawally and Salmiya Central Fire Departments successfully contained a fire that broke out in an apartment building in Hawally on Wednesday evening. The teams responded promptly, worked to extinguish the blaze, and brought it under control. One individual sustained injuries in the incident and was transferred to the appropriate authorities for medical attention.

KUWAIT CITY, May 21: In his second trial session before the Ministerial Court regarding the Ministry of Defense’s secret expenditures case, former Defense Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad submitted a check to the court for the amount he is accused of embezzling, and requested that it be handed over to the General Department for Sentences Enforcement. His defense attorney requested the summoning of witnesses and the incident officer. He also requested a statement of the Ministry of Defense’s secret expenditures from 1962 until just before his client assumed the ministerial portfolio.

The court adjourned the case to June 24 to hear the testimony of witnesses, including the investigations officer and two Ministry of Defense employees, and to settle the value of the check in question. The court also decided to adjourn to June 24 the ruling on the Financial Investigation Unit’s appeal regarding allegations of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad’s interference in the previous National Assembly elections.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff