Okaz/Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — The Administrative Court sentenced a detective working for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) with six years in prison for accepting a bribe. A source said the penal directorate at the Administrative Court received a case of bribery against Haia. "A man approached the administrative intelligence saying he bribed a detective working for the commission and the detective accepted his bribe. The man said he offered the detective SR100,000 to testify in court that his brother and son are innocent in a drug crime," said the source. The source also said the man paid the detective but the latter did not hold his half of the bargain and was not able to prove that the two suspects were innocent. "The man said the detective asked for another bribe. The man said the detective told him he can end the case without it being resolved and release the man's relatives for SR200,000," said the source. The source also said the detective provided the court with another story. "The detective said a man approached him regarding the case of a drug deal in Al-Niyairiyah. Several drug dealers and drug addicts were arrested and accused of drug dealing. Further investigations proved that some of the arrested suspects were innocent," said the source. The source said the detective also said he was assigned to review the case and proofread the statements given by the suspects. "The detective said he could not find strong evidence to accuse the suspects. So he reported his findings to his chief executive who ordered the release of the suspects. The detective claims he never met any of the suspects and deduced his conclusion from the reports and evidence presented to him," said the source. The source added the chief executive of the commission at the Eastern Province presented 10 evidences proving that the detective was indeed in contact with the man who reported him and did indeed accept the bribe. "The chief executive said the detective reported to him that the suspects were innocent and recommended their release. The commission did not release them but forwarded them to the specialized court. The chief executive said that is when the relative of the suspects approached the detective with his bribe," said the source. The source added the police arrested the detective for accepting bribery. "There was plenty of evidence to prove that the detective did accept bribery. The police have phone messages and phone calls recorded proving that the detective did indeed ask for more money to pursue the release of the suspects," said the source. The source said when confronted with the allegations and the evidence the detective confessed to accepting the bribe claiming he was too shy to say no to it. "The detective claimed he never asked for a bribe initially and that the man simply presented it to him. The case was forwarded to another detective who confirmed that the detective in question is guilty. The detective was sentenced to six years in prison," said the source. The source also said the court exempted the man who bribed the detective from any sentence as he took the initiative to report the crime.
