A sweaty security guard at a technical secondary school in Zinj has been accused of stealing car engines and motor parts which are used for teaching students at the school.
Over the summer vacation, the 55-year-old, accused of unrelated drug offences in court, allegedly stole a total of 39 car parts worth BD1,735 over the course of 11 days, sneaking them away, bit by bit, during his night shift duties.
According to court documents, the Bahraini allegedly took 11 car engines, four manual transmission motors, four engine head gaskets, 12 rear axles and eight differential gears.
He denied charges of theft and of exploiting his duty to guard the school and its property at the High Criminal Court yesterday.
“At the end of every academic year, all the equipment used for teaching is readied for the next year,” a staff member from the technical school’s automotive department testified.
“When the semester ended, all the engines belonging to the department were organised, sorted and put in the right place, be it inside the workshops or in the outer courtyard belonging to the automotive track.
“Last time I saw them was on June 30, which was the last day of work for faculty and administrative staff.
“When we returned for the new school year, we searched everywhere in the department and couldn’t find the equipment, which was worth between BD1,500 and BD2,000.”
After reporting the incident to the Education Ministry, a supervisor at the technical secondary boys’ school was tasked with informing the police about the disappearance.
“The missing car parts were bought by teachers at the end of the semester to be used for educational purposes, and were placed in the central courtyard,” he said. “However, they were nowhere to be found in September,” the Bahraini educator said in his report, to which he attached purchase receipts.
Police conducted an investigation at the school, and found no damage or signs of breaking-and-entering upon inspecting the campus’s metal fence.
Fingers were pointed at the defendant by some of the members of staff, and he was summoned by the school’s administration, but did not appear.
“The defendant is wanted by several police stations on suspicion of various drug charges,” a policeman who headed the investigation told the Public Prosecution. “While he was on shift one night, we went to his house where we found the missing equipment, which came into his possession because and despite of his duty to guard it.”
Security camera footage allegedly showed the man taking the equipment to his car, piece-by-piece, over the course of 11 days during the summer vacation. In one of the clips, the man reportedly appeared to be in a state of exertion, sweating as he was carrying a heavy engine to his vehicle.
Technical secondary schools in Bahrain offer vocational and industrial training for boys only, and students can choose from several tracks beside automotive mechanics.
Students can choose to specialise in electronics, welding and fabrication, air conditioning and cooling, diesel engines, electric power distribution, appliances maintenance, telecommunication, machining or instrumentation.
The court adjourned the hearing to January 13 for defence submissions.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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