Three young men, including a minor aged 16, are on trial at the High Criminal Court for setting fire to street lighting outside Country Mall on Budaiya Highway.
A report issued by the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) detailed the damages allegedly incurred by the defendants, and how much it has cost to repair and replace four light poles.
According to the Electricity Distribution Directorate report, it cost BD286 to fix them and hire labourers to carry out the work. The repairs were undertaken by EWA’s Budaiya depot.
A number of cut-out fuses, transformers and PVC pipes needed to be replaced, costing BD108.600, while ‘mobilisation’, or hiring a contractor and laying new cables cost BD177.500.
The court earlier heard that the incident took place in October, following a pro-Palestine gathering held in Karranah, which the trio had attended after allegedly finding a ‘call-to-action’ about the event on social media.
In Public Prosecution questioning, the three Bahrainis admitted to the charge of damaging public property and causing a threat to people’s lives, the court heard, but later pleaded not guilty when the trial began.
On the day of the incident, the central police operations room received a report from on-site policemen on 2.45pm about the defendants allegedly acting suspiciously. A patrol vehicle was sent to access the situation, and the officers reported that three individuals had succeeded in starting the fire, court documents stated.
The Civil Defence swiftly arrived at the scene and firemen put out the blaze.
One of the defendants, a 21-year-old who lives in Demistan, was previously found guilty at the Lower Criminal Court of bullying and hitting a fellow classmate in intermediate school.
He, along with another classmate accused of tormenting the boy, were made to sign a document promising not to repeat these actions.
Since he was remanded in October, a complaint was raised against him by the authorities for causing a disruption in the detention centre in Dry Dock.
The complaint read: “The inmate has been starting trouble in his holding cell by shouting, making strange noises and whistling, with the goal of disrupting the cell.”
Social workers submitted a court-ordered evaluation of the teenage defendant, outlining his family circumstances and psychological status, and possible reasons behind committing the alleged act.
Such reports are required by law to enter criminal court records, when a child is not standing trial in a Children’s Restorative Justice Court due to having adult co-defendants.
Judges set February 11 as the date a verdict will be issued in the case.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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