Ali Salman detained

Email: [email protected]
Rapist masseur
is jailed for life
By NOOR ZAHRA
A CHINESE masseur
has been sentenced to life
behind bars for raping an
American servicewoman
in Bahrain.
Gulf Daily News
Monday, 29th December 2014
Apartment assault suspect on trial
A SAUDI man is in the dock for allegedly raping a Chinese
woman in her own apartment.
The 39-year-old is standing trial at the High Criminal
Court for allegedly breaking into the 27-year-old’s apartment in the Seef District, beating her and raping her.
He has been charged with rape, trespassing apart from
being drunk and disorderly.
However, the defendant claimed he was in a relationship
with the victim and they had consensual sex.
“I was visiting my girlfriend and her mother at their
apartment in Seef in June,” the defendant told prosecutors.
“She then told me that her mother was not home and we
had sex.
“I had business deals with the mother and was in a rela-
Zooling Fung was convicted in absentia by the High
Criminal Court yesterday for
raping the 21-year-old woman, who works as a chef in
the US Navy based in Juffair
and has the rank of an officer.
The
courtroom
was
packed with US Navy and
Embassy representatives, but
the 44-year-old man did not
show up for his sentencing
as he was earlier released on
bail.
He earlier denied the charges and
claimed he had consensual sex with the
woman.
However, his victim told prosecutors
she and two colleagues visited a massage parlour in Juffair on March 31,
where the 44-year-old man covered her
mouth when she attempted to scream
and sexually assaulted her.
She added that she was too scared
to resist the man, who then went on to
give her a 45-minute massage.
The High Criminal Court yesterday found the defendant guilty because traces of his DNA and semen
were found on the victim’s body and
clothes.
“The victim went for a massage at
the massage parlour the defendant
worked for in Juffair,” read court verdict documents.
tionship with her daughter.”
His lawyer Huda Saad told judges yesterday that the victim’s parents were blackmailing her client by demanding
BD30,000 to drop charges.
“They filed the whole case against my client to get money,”
she claimed in court.
“My client was in a relationship with her (victim) and they
both had consensual sex.
“Now her parents are asking for BD30,000 to drop the
charges because they know he did not rape her.”
She also requested the acquittal of her client, arguing that
the victim’s statements to police and the Public Prosecution
were contradictory.
The trial was adjourned to January 28 for the verdict.
“He then sexually assaulted her and
she attempted to scream but he covered
her mouth.
“We found him guilty of rape after
the medical examiner’s report showed
traces of his semen and DNA on the
victim’s body and clothes.
“The victim also had bruises which
were proven to have occurred during
the attack.
“The court also believes the testi-
mony of the victim which matches
the evidence presented by prosecutors.”
Judges also issued an arrest warrant
for the defendant after handing out a
25-year prison sentence.
Lawyer Fatima Al Hawaj, who represented the victim, earlier told the
GDN that the man was believed to
have fled the country.
[email protected]
Ali Salman detained
AN opposition leader has been detained
over allegations of inciting hatred against
the government.
Al Wefaq National Islamic Society secretary general Shaikh Ali Salman denied
the charges, which also included instigating violence against the regime, when he
was questioned at the Criminal Investigation Directorate yesterday, according
to his lawyers.
He is expected to be taken to the Public Prosecution today in connection with
speeches he made between 2012 and December 5 this year.
An Interior Ministry statement issued
yesterday said that legal procedures were
taken to refer Shaikh Salman to prosecutors. However, several hours later the
society said on Twitter that Shaikh Salman called his family to inform them of
his “arrest”.
Meanwhile, anti-government rioters
last night blocked highways in A’ali,
Ma’meer, Bilad Al Qadeem, Duraz and
other villages in protest over Shaikh Sal-
man’s detention.
Some also clashed with police stationed in several areas. Reports also
claimed that a child was caught in the
crossfire and was injured.
The GDN had reported that Al Wefaq held its general assembly on Friday
in Estiraha Plaza in Karbabad, where
members elected representatives for
their consultative body and central committee.
Authorities had prevented the society
from holding its polls in Al Oruba Club
in Juffair earlier in the month, saying a
social and sporting club should not engage in events for political purposes of
any form.
In July, the Justice, Islamic Affairs and
Endowments Ministry filed a suit against
the society, saying that it must rectify its
“illegal status following the annulment
of four general assemblies for lack of a
quorum and the non-commitment to the
public and transparency requirements
for holding them”.
n Hamad Town Community Centre hosted an event to mark the International Day of
Persons with Disabilities. Held in co-operation with Salwa Club for the Disabled as part of
the Social Development Ministry’s “Come Closer to Our World, Understand Us” initiative,
the event saw a group of people with Down Syndrome taking part in various activities.
Above, a pottery-painting workshop was just one of the many activities on offer.
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Mattress
Down Pillows
Down Duvets
Mattress Protector
Mattress Topper
Bed sheets
Towels
Music Pillows
3
Armed robber
charged with
new knife raid
By NOOR ZAHRA
A CONVICTED thief and
former delivery driver has
appeared in court again, accused of another theft from
the restaurant where he used
to work.
The 25-year-old Pakistani
was found guilty of mugging a Filipina colleague outside Dairy Queen’s Ghufool
branch by the Lower Criminal
Court in July.
In that attack, carried out
on February 12, he made off
with BD467 of the restaurant’s money – and he is now
accused of stealing a further BD3,200 from the same
branch in an armed robbery
he allegedly committed in
March.
According to court documents, the man and a fellow Pakistani co-defendant
worked together to carry out
the raid, which at one point
allegedly saw them holding
a Filipina cashier at knifepoint.
Desperation
“My financial situation was
very bad and I came up with
the idea to rob the restaurant
I work for to get some cash,”
the 25-year-old said in his
statement to prosecutors.
“I really needed the money
and a friend agreed to help
me.
“I knew exactly when in the
morning the cash would be
counted at the counter.”
The
thief
described
in his statement how he
had telephoned his former
colleague – the Filipina cashier – and convinced her to
come to the restaurant’s back
door.
“We called the woman
at the branch and told her
that we had to meet her to
hand her something from the
restaurant,” he said.
“She opened the back door
and we pushed her against a
wall.
“My friend tied her up using a rope and pointed a knife
at her neck.
“I then took the money,
which we split between us,
before we ran away.”
The trial was adjourned until January 19 for review.
P.O Box 11080, Kingdom Of Bahrain
Manama Tel: 1774 0448 I Riffa Tel: 1749 0448
Fax: 1774 0165
Email: [email protected]
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