BAHRAIN’S highest court has rejected the final appeal from a woman found guilty of pocketing more than BD2,650 which had been given to her by a client to book vacation tickets for him.
The Cassation Court upheld the six-month sentence of the Bahraini woman who was convicted last year of taking the money for herself using fraudulent means.
According to court documents, the case began when a man asked the defendant to buy travel tickets for him and his family, transferring BD2,680 to her.
She reportedly took the cash and did not buy the tickets nor return the money.
She was reported to authorities by the scam victim and was tried in the Lower Criminal Court, where she was given a six-month suspended jail sentence last October, pending the appeals’ verdicts.
Despite appealing this decision at the High Criminal Court, the woman’s appeal was turned down in November.
Her defence filed for a final appeal at the Cassation Court soon after, denying that the defendant ever received the money in question and alleging that the transfer never happened in the first place.
The defence team also argued that the woman had no criminal intent, and requested judges to drop the charges.
In response, the court said in the final verdict papers that the initial Lower Criminal Court ruling was based on bank transfer documents, phone conversations between the victim and defendant, and data obtained from her mobile phone.
“Criminal intent was proven when the defendant added the amount to her personal possessions, despite receiving it to carry out a service in the victim’s stead,” the papers read.
“She went on to deny returning it to its rightful owner even though she has no valid claim to it.”
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