No! No! Proposed Traffic Law Change is a Step Backwards!
You see it all the time, at the roundabouts. Those fellows – it’s always guys – in the hot cars, the Porche, the Cayenne, I don’t even know all the names. The light turns red; they don’t care. They see a gap, they go.
I would love a look at the statistics. I would love to see who is getting all the fines for jumping the red lights. I bet 90% are all the same nationality.
And now they want to LOWER the fine for running the red light???
Just when Qatar has proudly announced that traffic deaths are falling dramatically with the ENFORCEMENT of the new, stricter laws?
No! No! A moderation of this fine is a step backward! Please, please, don’t do it!
Lower fine proposed for running a red light
The Advisory Council seeks a review of the traffic law
By Nour Abuzant
Staff Reporter
The Advisory Council has proposed a review of the traffic law with a stress on reducing the current fine of QR6,000 for jumping the red signal, a member of the council said yesterday.
According to him, the draft proposal recommended a significant cut in the fine and suggested that the penalty be structured around a more practical model based on the circumstances of the violation and the number of times a motorist committed the same offence.
Senior officials of the Traffic Department had defended the stringent rules which came into force in October 2007, saying they had been issued to combat the mounting number of traffic accidents which claimed scores of lives on the country’s roads.
Advisory Council member Mohamed al-Hajery, who was one of the 20 citizens felicitated by the Traffic Department for their clean traffic record yesterday, told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony that the House preferred a more pragmatic approach to the issue.
The awarding ceremony was part of Qatar’s celebration of the GCC Traffic Week, currently being held under the slogan “Beware of Other’s Faults”.
“The tendency of my fellow members is to take into consideration the number of previous traffic violations and the circumstances involving the jumping of the red-light,” al-Hajery said.
“You cannot treat someone who jumped the signal after a minute the light turned red and after a fraction of a second it turned red from orange,” he said.
“I think that the appropriate fine for a driver who jumped the red light without a criminal intention is QR1,500 – QR2,000.”
Al-Hajery stressed that his pleading for a more lenient treatment did not mean he was promoting traffic violations. “Anyone who deliberately jumps the signal should be treated like a potential killer and no mercy should be shown to him.”
He said he was in favour of treating each case of jumping the red light individually.
The Advisory Council members had on February 19, 2008, refused to ratify the 2007 law, arguing that “ it did not strike a balance between the crime and the punishment”.
In late July 2008, the Advisory Council members gave the law a “test period” that ended in October 2008, to check the effectiveness of the law.
The law had introduced for the first time a negative points system that might lead to the suspension or cancellation of driving licences.
The Advisory Council member said that he was personally against the system. He explained: “Sometimes, the (negative) points are registered in the driver’s account and sometimes against the owner of the vehicle. In some cases, your son drives the car and you sustain the points. It is an ineffective system and should be re-examined.”
However, Traffic Department director Brigadier Saad al-Kharji on Sunday said he was not aware of any intention to reduce, at least for the time being, the current fines.
“Anybody who respects the traffic regulations has nothing to fear,” he said arguing that after two and half years of its implementation, the law had “proved effective in reducing the number of casualties, if we take into consideration the increasing number of vehicles in the country”.
He said: “Our target is to save lives on Qatar’s roads and there is no fine that can equal the life of a human being. It is not true that our aim was just to collect money.”
Rapist Given Reduced Sentence
This is from the Gulf Times Court RoundUp
Life sentence commuted
A Doha appeals court has commuted to five-year imprisonment the life sentence given to a local teenager, who was convicted of raping a Sri Lankan housemaid.
Two Sri Lankan men in their late 20s were sentenced in absentia by a Doha court of first instance to 15 years imprisonment for helping the accused to perpetrate the crime.
The court heard that the two Sri Lankan accomplices who worked in a car washing facility told the main accused about the woman.
The rape took place soon after midnight on August 14, 2007.
According to the chargesheet, the main accused impersonated as a policeman and dragged the victim to his car, before they drove to a remote area.
“The two accomplices were paid money for their help and they left the car leaving the teenager with the 25-year old maid alone in a remote area.”
The court heard that the woman was too weak to resist the rapist, which was why no trace of violence was visible on her body.
“I shouted for help but in vain,” she said.
Explaining the commutation of the sentence, the court said that it took into consideration the young age of the convict and his clean record.
OK. So two Sri Lankan men tell a ‘local’ man about an Ethiopian house maid, and they plot to kidnap her, take her far out into the desert and to rape her.
Their plot succeeds, only somehow, they are identified and actually brought to trial.
The two Sri Lankans escape, and are convicted in their absence. The ‘local’ man is given a life time sentence. But wait! His sentence is commuted to five years because of his youth and clean record?
If I were a Qatteri father, I would want to know this man’s name. I would not want a man marrying my daughter who had a history of kidnapping a woman and raping her against her will way out in the desert. This man may be young, but he has already shown himself capable of doing something hugely WRONG, according to his own culture, and the law of the country. He plotted. He went to the trouble of impersonating a policeman to intimidate her into his car. He took her to a place where there would be no help for her, and she endured a terrifying experience, an experience she did not know she would live through, and an experience which will haunt her life and make her feel unsafe forever.
And this unnamed ‘local’ teenager gets five years in prison. Here is a good example of where a female judge might make a substantial difference in delivering justice for the Ethiopian housemaid.
First Woman Judge in Qatar
I am delighted to hear that Qatar has appointed its first female judge. I have to points of contention with this article. First – while I want women to have the same opportunity to be judges as men, I do not believe that because they are women, they can solve family rows better. I believe some female judges may be better than some male judges, but I don’t believe women will be better with family issues just because they are women. Women have agendas, too.
Second, one female judge does not fill a void. It sets a precedent. It breaks new ground. It IS a great and wonderful thing for Qatar.
It does not fill a void. Take all the judge positions in Qatar, and divide them by the percentage of females in Qatar – say like 50%. The void for female judges is equal to 50% of the positions. The void is not yet filled. Filling that void has just begun.
A woman judge can solve family rows better, say female lawyers
Web posted at: 3/13/2010 6:15:3
Source ::: THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Family courts in Qatar which hear marital disputes and claims for the custody of children from divorced or separated couples were in bad need of women judges, so with the appointment of Sheikha Maha Mansour Al Thani as an assistant judge, the dream has come true, say prominent women lawyers.
Being party to marital disputes or disputes involving the custody of children, women can be better understood by judges from their ilk.
So with Sheikha Maha having been appointed as judicial assistant, the void has been filled, said lawyer Neda Al Sulaiti.
She, however, clarified that she did not mean that women should be appointed judges only in certain courts.
“Women are capable, so they can be judges in all types of courts. It is another thing, though, that family courts here were particularly in bad need of female judges,” she told a local Arabic daily.
According to her, Sheikha Maha’s appointment to this elevated judicial position is a tribute to the rising clout of Qatari women. “They carry out in an excellent way whatever responsibility is assigned to them,” said the lawyer.
Qatari women are highly qualified and talented. They are in the ministry and the Central Municipal Council (CMC). So it was high time they were represented in the judiciary as well.
When women can be good lawyers why they cannot be good judges, she argues.
From Kuwait MOI
One reader was asking about where to go online to pay his Kuwait traffic violations. While looking it up (Google “Kuwait Government Traffic Violations Website”) I found this essay on Equality Before the Law in Kuwait:
Lt. Gen. Al-Rejaib: His Highness the Amir stresses on applying the law on everyone
The Interior Undersecretary Lt. Gen. Ahmad Abdullatif Al-Rejaib affirmed on embedding the principle of reward and punish with applying it, where is no place in the Interior Ministry for slackers or neglegants or lacker individuals.
He stressed importance on respecting the authority of the security man after it had been affected for some reasons, affirming on the need of restoring mutual respect between the security man and citizens as well as residents.
Lt. Gen. Al-Rejaib cleared out thoughout his meeting which was featured with honesty and transparency on Wednesday morning 3/2/2010 attended by the Interior Assistant Undersecretary for General Security Affairs, Maj. Gen. KHalil Al-Shamali, leaders and officers of the General Security sector, that the supreme directives of His Highness the Amir, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, is to apply law on everyone and no one is above it no matter how high this person is.
Lt. Gen. Al-Rejaib urged the leaders and officers of the General Security sector to follow up on all the works that are assigned to them as well as the tasks entrusted on them with honesty and transparency so justice prevails among everyone and for homeland residents to live in comfort, secure and safety. He demanded to honor the hardworker as soon as he accomplished any such achievements so it would be a motivation and an incentive for others to do work accurately.
At the beginning of the meeting in where it was took place at First Lt. Gen. Yousef Al-Khurafi Hall, Lt. Gen. Al-Rejaib welcomed his brothers and sons leaders and officers of the General Security sector, and conveyed to them the greetings of H.E. the Interior Minister Staff Lt. Gen. (ret.) Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and his good wishes for them for success and to exert to give more efforts.
This meeting comes for the sake of discussing many of the issues concerning about security direcotorates and police stations, emphysizing the importance of police station as it is the first point for citizen and resident to turn to and the first security venue known by the Kuwaiti society, he added.
He affirmed that police station was a safeguard for every citizen and resident and a source of fear for any such violators or outlaws; pointed out that the Ministry of Interior has restored the authority of police stations two years ago.
There are bright sides represented by outstanding distinguished efforts done by area leaders, police stations chiefs as well as their officers but in the other hand, there are few who don’t perform their duty in full, and this is not allowed for any case, he added.
Lt. Gen. Al-Rejaib warned on the sluggard individuals who will receive a proper punishment, whereas the sincere and hard work individuals will receive the most appreciable rewards. He stressed importance to reject any such favoritism or mediation or a compliment, and such matters should be dealt with strictness and be terminated.
The Lt. Gen. called on good work organization in police stations, mentioning that the Ministry of Interior is putting all possible support and resources from officers, constables and police patrols, and to such reasons police stations officers should be present in their posting duties.
The leaders of the General Security sector, on top of them Maj. Gen. Khalil Al-Shamali have to be in presence in their places day and night; therefore, it is not exceptable at all that high leaders are in presence at their posts and no police stations officers existed at their assigned locations, he pointed out.
He stressed out that evaluating leaders and officers work stemmed from their performing their duties on combating crime and running after outlaws and out system, and there are not such other way around.
Lt. Gen. Al-Rejaib requested leaders and officers of the General Security sector to work as always do and promised for the sake of Kuwait and its people who deserved to be given all such exerted efforts.
He called on police stations chiefs and their officers to identify the area nature where they work at in terms of its demographic structure, its foremost economical activities and its existent educational and banking facilities, affirming that such information are essential to be awared about by the police station officers.
The security work is an honorable task and an obligatory on us to hold responsibilities, working as a one team and any such achievements accomplished are due to fruitful cooperation and continuous coordination, and self-denial is a trait we should characterized by for the sake of homeland security, he noted out.
The Interior Undersecretary Lt. Gen. Ahmad Abdullatif Al-Rejaib concluded by expressing his hope that the leaders and officers of the General Security sector to be as always as they promised us of being discipline, committed with high duty performance; pointed out that this meeting is a beginning of a series of upcoming meetings with different security sectors.
In Pensacola, people ask me if I wasn’t scared living in Kuwait and Qatar. Safe? I feel safer in Qatar and Kuwait than in Pensacola! And that is what I tell them!
Doha: 10 “eateries” closed for Health Violations
This is from today’s Peninsula. Don’t you wish they would publish the names of the eateries? As a person who frequents ‘eateries’, as a person the health inspectors are protecting, I would very much like to know names of violaters. I would also like to see the standards by which they are judged, and the scores of ALL the restaurants/eateries they examine. In many countries, that is considered in the public interest.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know whose score was so low that they barely passed??
Eateries shut for violating health rules
Web posted at: 2/20/2010 5:46:46
Source ::: .THE PENINSULA
DOHA: At least 10 eateries across the city were closed down temporarily by Doha Municipality last month as punishment for violating health and safety rules.
Civic inspectors conducted routine checks on more than 2,800 eateries, among them restaurants, cafes and juice stalls in the city last month, to check their compliance with health and safety guidelines.
As many as 160 violations of various types were detected and 10 eateries found to be involved in serious violations, were ordered to be closed down.
Municipal inspectors discovered large foodstuff stocks with retail outlets that had outlived their expiry dates. Some 343 types of food items which were found to be unfit for consumption were recovered and destroyed.
They included more than 2,800 boxes of fresh eggs. Each box contains 30 eggs, so the stale eggs that were seized from various outlets and destroyed by the civic body totaled 84,000.
At least 53 samples of food items that were suspected to be unfit for consumption were taken by the municipal inspectors and sent over to the laboratory to run quality tests. It was found that six of them were unfit for consumption and did not meet Qatari standards and specifications.
The public cleaning department of Doha Municipality, on the other hand, referred 115 violations to law-enforcement agencies for action while issued 100 warnings to violators last month.
Some 423 entities found to be violating public cleaning regulations were fined on the spot.
As for beauty salons, raids were conducted last month on 63 of them and 21 violations were detected. At least five of them with serious violations were referred to the police for legal action.
The municipality also acted on a number of public complaints regarding stale foodstuff on sale, public hygiene and building permits, among other things, and referred several violators for action.
Some of these complaints had appeared in newspapers while others the municipality received telephonically, while still others in writing.
Hey Ayatollah! Leave Those Kids Alone!
Every now and then I make a new friend. I can see in their eyes – life! love! willingness to engage and take risks! people who don’t necessarily see things the way the majority does.
One of these friends, my Kuwaiti friend, is a treasure. She has the most amazing mind, and sends me the most amazing things.
You might look at me and think I am too old for Pink Floyd, but you would be wrong. Pink Floyd makes my blood run faster. They did when I was younger, they did when my own son discovered Pink Floyd, and then, watching this video my friend sent – WOW. There goes the adrenelin!
OK, YouTube won’t let me insert it in this post. Go to the original post, play the video. . . very creative, very moving:
http://www.blurredvisionmusic.com/
Don’t you love young people? They love justice, and they hate injustice. They hate unnecessary constrictions. They hate people telling them how to think. All that energy, all that passion, all that vision!
Most of my friends – like AdventureMan, like my Kuwaiti friend – are still 25 on the inside. 🙂
Most of my friends will get this video – and love it! 🙂
Qatar Arrests Three for Sorcery
From today’s Gulf Times
Three sorcerers, who were preying mainly on women, were arrested by the preventive security department, a statement issued by the public relations department at the ministry of interior said yesterday.
The accused, who are from an Arab country, confessed that they were practising sorcery in some Gulf states before coming to Qatar and that most of their victims were women and girls, the statement added.
A number of books, amulets, local and foreign currency were seized from the suspects who were staying at a hotel.
Lieutenant Colonel Manahi Khaled al-Hajiri, the head of the preventive security department urged the public to be cautious and report any suspicious acts to the police on: 4471444, 4947888 or send an SMS to 92994 or e-mail: aladeid@moi.gov.qa
I don’t believe in sorcery. The thought of it, to me, is just laughable. I can only imagine that the women these guys were preying on must have been desperate, and I can only try to imagine what their issues are – a straying husband? casting a love spell? some troublesome neighbor? wanting a baby?
My religion forbids us to have anything to do with sorcery – even fortune telling. I am guessing in the US people could be arrested for fraud, unless they could prove that their ‘sorcery’ worked, but I don’t know that practicing sorcery as such is against the law. So I have to wonder about all those women on late night TV who you can call and they will tell your fortune? That’s legal?
Local Man Acquitted of Abusing American Woman
Man cleared of abusing expat woman
By Nour Abuzant
From The Gulf Times Court RoundUp
A Doha court acquitted a man, for lack of evidence, of the charge of abusing an American woman on July 15, 2008.
According to the chargesheet, the 36-year-old accused entered the woman’s bedroom at night and “fondled” her while she was sleeping next to her husband.
The woman, 34, told interrogators that the accused local was a family friend and he had unsuccessfully tried to start a relationship with her.
The judges were told that the husband confronted the intruder, “who injured himself while fleeing the scene.”
The Nepali security guard at the compound where the alleged incident took place said that he saw a man trying to enter the compound and he tried to prevent him from entering the building.
However, the guard failed to identify the man at a police parade stating “it was too dark to recognise anybody.”
The defendant’s lawyer said his client had tried to call the woman on July 14 as he was a close friend of the family.
Explaining the “non guilty” verdict, the court of first instance said neither the American couple nor the security guard could recognise, beyond any reasonable doubt, the intruder. “Also no fingerprints were taken from the scene.”
The court said that the circumstantial evidence was insufficient to convict the accused.
‘Glimmer of Hope’ in Doha Abduction Case
‘Glimmer of hope’ in custody battle
From the Qatar Gulf Times
British mother Rebecca Jones has described the decision by a Qatari judge to bring her son to court as a “glimmer of hope” in her ongoing battle to regain custody of Adam, saying that the judge’s decision that the boy’s attendance is necessary feels like her first victory in the case.
“I’m thrilled that Adam will be given the opportunity to tell the court how he wants to come home to his Mummy, Daddy and little sister, and that the court will have the chance to see how he is suffering,” she told Gulf Times yesterday.
Jones, who claimed that her son was kidnapped when she was “tricked” into visiting the country in October last year, is particularly worried about the mental and physical state of her son, saying that he had been ill in recent weeks because of the stress surrounding the current situation.
However, the most recent ruling in the case has given her some hope that she may be reunited with him on a permanent basis in the not too distant future.
Earlier this week a judge ruled that Jones’ appeal will be held on February 11, and that both Adam and his 77-year-old grandmother who was originally awarded custody of him, should attend the court hearing.
Jones is also fighting a court case to increase her visitation rights with her son, something that will be decided on February 3.
She is hoping to be awarded more time with Adam, as well as the ability to spend time with him outside of the house in which he is currently living.
“He seems to be ill because of stress and has been physically sick recently,” she claimed, adding “he is very upset and very nervous on each visit – the second I walk through the door he asks me when he can come home.”
Another major concern for Jones is the educational aspect of her son’s life as it will shortly be the fifth month that he has gone without attending school.
But for now, Jones is just looking forward to the court hearing in which her son will finally be given a voice. “I truly believe that the court will do the right thing,” she added.
Qatar Traffic Department says NO New Traffic Fines
Traffic fine rumours squashed
Web posted at: 1/12/2010 5:13:28
Source ::: The Peninsula / BY MOHAMMED IQBAL
BY MOHAMMED IQBAL
DOHA: As rumours continue to circulate about a steep hike in traffic fines, a senior official of the Traffic Department has clarified that such reports are totally baseless and there is no change in the traffic law.
Over the past month, e-mail messages have been circulating about a new “traffic violations law” with a detailed list of new fines for different violations. Though the messages appear to be a fraud at the very first look, they have been widely circulated, causing confusion among the public.
“The Traffic Department is dealing with all violations as per the current traffic law, without any change or amendment,” said Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, Director of the Traffic Department, while denying the reports spreading through mobile phones and the Internet.
The email message about the “New traffic violations law — October 2009” gives a comparative list of the “new” and “existing” fines. Anyone who is aware of the current law would immediately realise that the message is fake, since many of the existing fines mentioned in it are incorrect.
For instance, it says that the “fine for using a mobile phone while driving” has been raised from QR3,000 to QR10,000, whereas the existing fine for this violation is QR500. Similar is the case with most of the other violations.
Only a naïve person would believe this message when it says that the fines for most violations have been raised from QR10,000 to an incredible QR50,000.
Despite all this, the message has been circulating fast as people forward it to others without thinking much about the content. The Peninsula has received a number of calls from people seeking a clarification on this matter.
A resident said he had seen the same message displayed prominently at a work site in the Industrial Area a few weeks ago.
An expert from the Traffic Department told The Peninsula yesterday that he had been receiving a number of queries from people about the issue.
“It is surprising that people go by such rumours. Anyone would know that if there is a major change in the traffic law it would be announced through the media by senior officials,” he added.
It has been pointed out that many residents don’t have easy access to authentic information about the traffic law since an official English version of the law is still not available.
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