Court renews detention of its employee, sister in bribe case

The Lower Criminal Court renewed yesterday the detention of a court employee and his sister involved in a bribe case for another 15 days behind bars, pending their trial. The siblings are said to have accepted BD50,000 in bribes in order to release a convict. Interior Ministry said in a statement earlier that “the Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security Director General confirmed the arrest of a Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments employee and his lawyer sister, who were caught redhanded while taking bribe”. 

The official explained in a statement issued by the ministry earlier that the Anti-corruption Directorate received a tip-off that the employee, with the help of his sister, would receive money to facilitate the release of a fraud convict.  “The department subsequently carried out an investigation which led to the arrest of the duo while they were accepting part of the bribe in down payment. Legal steps are being taken to refer the case to the Public Prosecution,” he added.

A source in the ministry informed that the employee was recently promoted to the post of an acting supervisor at the Civilian Court. As the case, in which he was caught receiving a bribe to release the convict, is criminal in nature, the man is believed to have reached out for assistance from an official in the Criminal Court who is assumed to be the person who tipped off the Anti-corruption Directorate. 

Other sources in the ministry said that the bribe amount is believed to be BD50,000. They also confirmed that the official in the Criminal Court, who the suspect had a long meeting with one day prior to the day of the arrest, was summoned earlier to give his testimony in the case, supporting the information stating that he was the person to report the incident to the Anti-corruption Directorate. 

As for the sister, who works as a lawyer, several lawyers informed that she is an unknown name in the field. They also expressed their surprise about the incident, affirming that releasing a detained convict in a fraud case is “impossible”.