A spurned girlfriend stole a TV, washing machine, oven, air fryer, microwave and three food processors from her former partner’s apartment after he dumped her, a court has heard.
The Ethiopian woman, who brought a six-wheeler truck to unburden the Saudi of his electronic appliances, was last year convicted of theft at the Lower Criminal Court, sentenced to three months in jail with the judge also ordering her deportation.
However, the defendant managed to convince an appeals court to drop the deportation penalty, after submitting a fully-authenticated marriage certificate from Ethiopia, claiming that her ex was actually her husband.
She took to the Sharia Court in an attempt to prove that he was the father of her infant son, but lost the case. The Saudi man then reported her to authorities, accusing her of forging the marriage certificate.
Last month, the 34-year-old mother was found guilty of forgery, sentenced to three years in prison, and judges ruled to deport her after completing both jail sentences.
She then took to the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to contest the ruling.
Since the Ethiopian consulate had earlier authenticated the reportedly-forged document, prosecutors requested more information about it.
“The Public Prosecution asks the embassy to view the document attached, and would like to inquire about the (authentication) transaction, which is the subject of a court case,” read the request letter.
“We hope that you carry out the court order urgently, and deliver the response before the next hearing,” it continued, and was signed by the Capital Governorate Prosecution.
The court heard that the Ethiopian woman was in a relationship with a Saudi man, who visits Bahrain every weekend and stays in an apartment in Hoora.
As part of appeals case files, the GDN was able to obtain a verdict from the appellant’s previous theft trial, in which she was sentenced to three months in prison.
“The Ethiopian defendant was able to steal appliances from the Saudi victim’s residence, using a key to commit the crime,” read the verdict from last year, which revealed new details about the case.
“According to the Saudi man, the two were together, but had issues between them, and the woman was previously asked to vacate his home by policemen.
“She was asked to drop off the key, but with encouragement from a friend, she took his property instead. According to a shopkeeper, he saw her and two men loading a six-wheeler with the appliances.”
The GDN earlier reported that the dubious marriage contract appears to have been issued by a regional Sharia Court in Ethiopia, and had several stamps confirming its authenticity, signed by three diplomats.
The contract also sports a genuine apostille issued by Bahraini authorities, which had agreed to certify the document after the Ethiopian mission forwarded it to the office.
While the defendant stated that she married the Saudi with a verbal agreement, the man vehemently denied this claim, and further refused to recognise her child as his offspring.
The woman’s side of the story, which was recorded in appeals court documents, maintains that the two wed under a verbal marriage contract, a practice that is valid in Islam.
She stated that the matrimony was completed in the presence of witnesses in a hotel in Adliya, and that the Saudi gave her a BD1,500 dowry to make the contract official.
In July, the High Criminal Court found the expat guilty of falsifying an official document with intent to use it as if it was genuine, and using it with knowledge of its invalid nature.
Judges stated in the ruling that the fatherhood case ‘caused great damage to the victim’s reputation’.
The trial was adjourned to August 24, as a response is yet to be received by the court from the Ethiopian consulate general.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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