A new law issued yesterday has stipulated heavy punishment for people who collect donations without proper authorisation.
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani issued yesterday Law No. 22 for 2015, amending some of the provisions  of the Law No. 11 of 2004 that governs the Penal Code.
According to the new law, anybody who collects donations personally or through others will be subject to a penalty of maximum one year in jail and a fine of up to QR50,000 or any one of the two.
Soliciting donations through newspapers, companies or any other means other than the legally authorised circumstances, will be liable for suitable punishment. Also, a newspaper or the medium that publishes such advertisements shall be punishable by a maximum fine of  QR100,000 or suspension of its activities for no more than one year.
The new law has stiffened the penalty for publicly insulting the flag of Qatar or the flag of any non-hostile country or the flag of an international organisation, entity or the GCC flag.
Acts like lowering a flag or damaging it or any other act that expresses hatred and disdain can attract punishment. The violators could be punished with a maximum prison term of three years and a maximum fine of QR200,000. Earlier, the fine did not exceed QR15,000.
Another amendment to the law has increased the penalty from a maximum two-year jail term to three years  for “any public officer who intentionally abstains from the execution of a judgement or an order, issued by a court within 30  days after being officially notified to execute the said judgment. Besides the errant officer may be dismissed from service by a court order.
“Those who practise any act of legerdemain and charlatanry, whether for a payment or free, will be punished with a minimum three years in jail and a maximum 15 years and a fine of up to QR200,000 or any one of the two penalties,” another amendment said.