Abdulrahman Al-Ali Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Administrative Court in Jeddah on Wednesday adjourned the trial of 12 Justice Ministry employees, including two notaries public and a court clerk, to Dec. 14 to allow it more time to study the case. In a two-page submission to the court, the first defendant, a former court clerk, retracted his confessions during preliminary investigations into corruption in land transactions. He claimed that the transfer of ownership took place in the notary public's residence and not at his office. He said he completed legal procedures by registering the title deeds after receiving written directives from judges and court officials. When the second defendant, who was the notary public, refuted his claims, he said the notary public was not speaking the truth. The judge then asked the notary public to explain the procedures of issuing title deeds. He said he received about 50 title deeds daily and could not say whether a document was forged or not because he was not an expert in such matters. He said his role was to refer the title deeds to the chief notary public, who in turn refers them to the court president. He said he gave clearance for the title deeds without knowing they were forged. The fourth defendant, the owner of a real estate office who is accused of giving bribes to get title deeds issued, denied the charges and retracted all confessions he made during investigations, saying they were dictated to him.
