A lady manager of a private company has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment followed by deportation for trying to bribe a public employee, local Arabic daily

Arrayah reported yesterday.

The Syrian woman was caught red-handed while trying to pay QR10,000 as bribe to an employee of Civil Defence. “She was convicted of paying a bribe to a public employee to breach the responsibilities of his official position. The judge also ordered confiscation of the bribe amount of QR10,000,” the report said.

The accused lady was the manager of a “clearance and enterprises studies” company, the paper said. She offered an employee of Civil Defence an amount of QR10,000 to issue a certificate to a building.

Such documents that certify the quality of fire safety measures are mandatory for buildings, both commercial and residential, to attract tenants.

The prosecution said the government employee pretended to accept the  bribe and informed the authorities concerned, including his superiors, about the offer. Accordingly, a trap was laid and the woman was arrested red-handed while handing over the money to the official.

It was stated in the judgment that the verdict was based on the confession of the accused and the testimony of the police. The court also pointed out that the accused tried to strike a “deal” with the public employee whereby he would be paid a cash reward for each and every certificate that he would issue.