Man jailed for attempt to bribe cop at airport

Manama : An Asian man banned from travelling abroad and his friend were sentenced to six months imprisonment yesterday for offering a bribe to a policeman at the Bahrain International Airport to help exit the country.

One of the men, who works as a cleaner at the at Bahrain International Airport, offered the policeman BD5,000 in last May to overlook the travel-ban imposed on his friend and assist him in exiting the country. The policeman pretended to accept the bribe and coordinated with the authorities to nab the man red-handed.

“The suspect dressed his friend as a worker at the airport and helped him access the staff-only area. He then asked the policeman to assist his friend in passing the gates and into the departures hall. The policeman rejected and asked the suspect to give him the money in advance. Then, the suspect brought an envelope with BD2,000 inside it from a car parked in the airport’s parking lots. At that time, police surprised him and caught him in the act,” court files showed.

The files also indicated that the police inspected the vehicle and found another envelope with BD3,000, the remaining money of the bribe. It was also mentioned that the entire incident was recorded by the surveillance cameras at the airport.  

The prosecutors revealed that an international arrest warrant was issued by the Interpol against the man banned from travelling abroad.

Both suspects were sentenced yesterday by the Second Higher Criminal (Appeals) Court to six months in jail each, to pay fines of BD5,000 and to confiscate the amount of the bribe.