The price of life ......
Today's Court Round up. Boring I know but instances like this should never go unoticed. The first half of the final sentence which always appears in the case of transgressing Nationals always makes me "smile"........
Motorist fined QR30,000 for fatal crash
By Nour Abuzant
A local motorist has been slapped with a QR30,000-fine for reckless driving that led to the death of an Arab pedestrian. A Doha court of first instance also suspended his driving licence for three months and ordered him to pay, jointly with the insurance company, the blood money of QR200,000 to the family of the deceased.
The fatal accident took place on March 2 last year in the North Maither area.
According to the traffic report, the accused, while negotiating a curve, hit the 67- year old Sudanese pedestrian.
The 21-year-old motorist denied any wrongdoing, saying that the victim appeared suddenly in front of him. He told the judges that he tried to avoid knocking him down but in vain.
A traffic police investigator said that he marked brake traces on the street and that was an indication of excessive speed.
Explaining the conviction, the judges said that the fatal knockdown could have been avoided if the suspect was driving within the speed limit of 80kmph.
The link between the cause and effect is clear in this case, the judges ruled and they convicted the suspect.
The court did not impose a jail penalty saying that it considered the age of the motorist and the victim’s family members had also opted for blood money.
That works out to $7,500 for killing someone. Not a bad bargain.
The local charity that pays blood money for impoverished local murderers is going to have to have a fundraising gala soon. I wonder what the theme will be.
Yes, and the story just below this one reported that a guy got six months jail time for shoplifting 600QR worth of bed sheets.
WK--killing expats is just getting so expensive these days. I'm glad charities exist to subsidize the prize. Otherwise how could the Egyptian woman let her maid know she was dissatisfied with her work?
oneshot, I am in no way judging the judgment here.
I am just saying...they do appear out of nowhere sometimes...and even worse, they stand still on the roadside until a car approaches,often with great speed...and THEN, when the car is really close, they start crossing the street. Have experienced it many times.
and when I say "great speed" I am talking about 100 to 120 km/h zones.
Maybe they don't realize that what they are doing is...rather dangerous...
So which charity is sponsoring this murder?
And trust me, the camel is not guilty if it crosses the road to Dukhan. You are, if you bump into it!
You are always guilty if you bump into an obstacle, expected or not. If a car stands in front of you and you bump into it, you are guilty. If a person is on the road and you bump into the person, you are guilty, because: you must adjust your driving to the CIRCUMSTANCES.
as a reply to your comment : i copy paste from the topic this:
he judges said that the fatal knockdown could have been avoided if the suspect was driving within the speed limit of 80kmph.
Agreed with nomerci....
Specially near LULU opp to Hamad Medical Center Al-sadd... Pedestrians are standing on the edge of the foot path, making it a serious hazard to their own life as well as others....
on a two lane road with speed bumps and barely missed a lil girl who was coming from the left sidewalk. So close
maybe families should not take money and ask for stiff sentences so that QL memebers be pleased with the long jail sentences
Well, I would like you all to keep one thing in mind,disregarding any nationality, often pedestrians DO appear out of thin air and DO NOT look either left or right BEFORE crossing a road. They also, quite regularly, cross busy roads at a leisurely pace.
Dude, you keep repeating yourself - what is your point?
The court did not impose a jail penalty saying that it considered the age of the motorist and the victim’s family members had also opted for blood money.
Sadly, many countries don't consider "vehicular homicide" as a serious crime.
"Considering the age"? So, the younger you are, the more people you may kill, or what?
The court did not impose a jail penalty saying that it considered the age of the motorist and the victim’s family members had also opted for blood money.
Hmmm only my opinion of course but Im fairly sure that if someone mowed down my old man whilst taking a corner at over 80 klicks, I'd want more than "his" money and the opportunity to slap his punk face.
LP - couldnt agree more - where is the deterent to stop these gormless twats - I dont think that the 3 months ban and a 30k fine is going to alter this particular gormless nasty ignorant pig from driving like the moronic killer he is. Hopefully what goes around, comes around - I do hope so. Just an opinion.
The question really is why the Gulf Times reports this. Do they want to show how ridiculous the legal system is? That works fine. Or do they want to tell drivers, don't worry, even if you kill somebody, halli walli?