Owner of Collapsed Building in Jeddah Detained for Bribery
The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority made a shocking announcement on Thursday regarding the owner of a building that collapsed in Jeddah, resulting in seven deaths and eight injuries.
Firas Hani Jamal Al-Turki, who is the deputy minister for shared services at the Ministry of Culture, was found to have attempted to obtain a building permit despite the building having technical defects. Despite being ordered by the local municipality to halt construction due to these issues, he failed to comply.
Al-Turki’s legal representative, Fahad Hussein Ali Sanba, engaged in a shady deal with an engineering consultancy office, involving a Saudi citizen named Majed Mohammed Jameel Bushnaq and a Yemeni intermediary contractor named Mohammed Salim Ahmed Al-Hussaissi. The plan was to obtain a building permit for the construction of two additional floors and an upper annex.
The scheme involved submitting false information for the permit, including doctored photos showing that the building had been demolished, in exchange for a hefty sum of SR50,000 ($13,325). Al-Turki transferred the money to his legal representative, who then passed it on to the engineering office employee responsible for the illegal issuance of the permit.
As a result of the unauthorized construction, the building collapsed under the increased loads, leading to the tragic loss of life. Al-Turki eventually confessed to paying the bribe in exchange for the permit.
All individuals involved in this corrupt scheme have been apprehended, and legal action is underway, according to the authority.