Informed sources told Arab News that the court saw no reason for a retrial, since the crime was sacrilegious against the House of God — Islam’s most sacred shrine.
“Anyone who dares commit such a heinous crime should be severely punished to deter other people from ever daring to do such a thing,” the court said.
It considered the rulings issued by a general court to be final and never to be appealed. The court sentenced three members of the gang to 10 months imprisonment and 200 lashes each.
The court did not reveal the exact number of thieves, but said the rest of them were currently being tried.
The thieves — civilians including government employees — were accused of stealing steel worth more than SR25 million about three years ago. The case soon became a matter of public interest.
The charges against them are forging official documents, receiving unlawful amounts of money, enabling an Indian accomplice to travel outside the Kingdom, stealing quantities of iron bars owned by the municipality in Muzdalifah and others.
The attorney general presented more than 20 pieces of evidence to incriminate the accused. These included their own confessions, authenticated by a Shariah court, a forensic report, false contracts, checks, rent contracts among others.
The attorney general called for harsh punitive measures against the accused.