MADINA: The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution said Saturday that it has started looking into the dossier of several accomplices suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of a baby, Anas Al-Muzaini, from a government hospital in Madina a week ago. The principal suspect, a Pakistani woman who failed to have a baby of her own in 16 years of marriage, told investigators that she took the one-day-old baby from the hospital and left through a back door last Sunday as her Saudi husband was waiting for her at the gate. The woman had been admitted to the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Madina the previous day for miscarriage treatment in her fourth month of pregnancy. She then bonded with the family of the baby and came the next day and took him away while the mother and grandmother were asleep. She returned with the baby to her two sisters and brothers and told them she had a baby after 16 years. The siblings suspected her story after reading about the abduction of the baby the following day in the press. The family decided to return the baby to his family without reporting the case to the authorities. A source confirmed that because they are suspected of covering up the alleged crime, the husband, brothers and sisters of the woman accused of kidnapping the baby will remain in custody until investigations are complete. Lawyers expect the court to issue verdicts including imprisonment and deportation from the country for the Pakistani nationals. They stressed that while those accused of being involved felt remorse and returned the baby to his family after four days without reporting the incident to the authorities, they will still face serious punishment. Sultan Bin Zahem, chairman of the Lawyers' Committee in Madina Region and lawyer and legal consultant, said Saturday the principal suspect and her suspected accomplices are still being detained because of the magnitude of the crime and will not be released on bail, according to the crimes regulation issued by the Minister of Interior in 2007. “Responsibility for the crime lies with the perpetrator and the ones who know about it,” he said. “Keeping silent about a crime is the least criminal act. The woman is suspected of kidnapping the baby without prior planning or premeditation, but when she got a chance she grabbed it. Therefore, it is considered a kidnapping crime – a major crime, despite the fact that is accused of getting to know the baby's mother and grandmother and, in a moment of inattention, taking the baby and escaping.” Bin Zahem said that after completion of investigations, the case would be referred to the General Court, not the Criminal Court, because it is a serious crime requiring detention. “In premeditated cases, the abductor is generally sentenced to one to two years' prison, and any non-Saudis found to be involved are deported after the completion of the sentence,” he said. He said the verdicts would depend on the judge's view, confessions by those being held in custody and their roles. He said the baby's father dropping his case would decrease the penalties, considering that he has relinquished his private right and what remains is the public right, which prosecutors would demand to be fulfilled because they are responsible for maintaining security and stability in the society. Saud Al-Hujaili, a member of the Arab Lawyers' Federation and legal consultant, said if it is determined that the kidnapping had been planned beforehand, the penalty could reach two years in jail plus other discretionary penalties for those who covered up the crime. Lawyer Khalid Abu Rashid said “the voluntarily returning of the child would not absolve the perpetrators, and more severe punishments could be meted out. The sentence could be at the discretion of the court,” That leaves open a range of options, the most extreme being the death penalty, he added.
