A 25-year-old Asian driver faces a possible five-year prison sentence and SR5 million fine for raping a female university student inside his bus. The driver had also videotaped the assault. The District Court had asked for the driver to be sentenced to death, but the General Court, where the case had been referred, said the Prosecutor General had recommended a severe discretionary sentence. Saad Bin Mesfer Al-Malki, a lawyer and legal consultant, said the General Court is responsible for issuing death sentences while the District Court is responsible for issuing severe discretionary penalties. He said crimes involving information technology can see a convicted person getting five years in prison and a fine of SR5 million. “There are also penalties for threatening and blackmailing a girl and involving her in sexual acts.” Turki Dhafir Al-Qarni, a judge at the District Court in Jeddah, had earlier referred the case to the General Court and had requested the death penalty. The judge had also shown the General Court the video clips of the sexual assault. The Jeddah District Court had found that the driver assaulted the young woman, videotaped the incident and then blackmailed her by threatening to send the clips to various people. In her complaint, the student said the driver took her to an isolated area after dropping off all the other students. He then committed the crimes. The student filed a complaint with the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a), which found several cell phones owned by the driver with photos and clips of the woman. Some of the clips showed the woman begging him not to assault her. __
