Two men jailed for carjacking, drugs abuse

TDT |Manama

Two men were convicted yesterday of stealing a car and selling it for BD80 using a stolen identity card, while one of them was also convicted of drugs abuse. This was announced by the First Criminal Court, which sentenced the first defendant to five years in jail for orchestrating the carjacking and committing the crime.

His accomplice, the second defendant, received a sixmonth prison sentence and was fined BD100 for possessing and abusing drugs. The second defendant was also sentenced to one-year imprisonment for his role in assisting in the sale of the car. However, the execution of the sentence was suspended by the court for three years.

The case was first reported by the victim to Southern Hamad Town Police Station on January 12 this year, informing that his car, which he had parked in front of his house on the same day, was stolen. A few days later, the stolen car was found at a scrap shop in the Hamala industrial area in the Northern Governorate.

When the Asian worker at the shop was questioned by the police about the stolen car, he informed them that he had legally bought it for BD80 from the first defendant. Justifying his claims, the worker also presented the sale contract and the identity card used by the first defendant.

Further investigation led to the owner of the identity card, the second victim, who stated that his wallet has been stolen around a month ago. To prove the authenticity of his statements, the man presented documents indicating that he had reported the matter to the police and issued a new card in replacement of the lost one.

Police investigations led to the identification and arrest of several suspects, including the first defendant. The scrap shop worker recognised the first defendant from the police identity parade, and the former led them to his accomplice. Both men were referred to the Public Prosecution, which ordered to remand them pending trial.