KUWAIT CITY, Jan 12: The criminal courts have issued several rulings, including imprisonment and fines, against individuals accused of assaulting medical professionals in Ministry of Health hospitals while they were performing their duties. These charges were brought forward in a complaint filed by lawyer Elaf Al-Saleh, representing the Kuwait Medical Association.

In one case, the Criminal Court sentenced a citizen to two years in prison, with the sentence suspended, and a bail of 500 dinars. This conviction stemmed from an incident where the defendant was accused of physically assaulting a doctor with a stapler and a chair, allegedly because he refused to allow the doctor to treat his wife. In another case, the Court of Cassation fined a citizen 2,000 dinars for locking a female doctor in a room and physically attacking her. Additionally, the Criminal Court fined a female citizen 200 dinars for insulting a doctor over a treatment delay, claiming the doctor had overstepped her role. A separate case saw the Criminal Court impose a fine of 100 dinars on a citizen who threatened to kill a doctor at Farwaniya Hospital.

Lawyer Elaf Al-Saleh, in her role as a representative of the Kuwait Medical Association, affirmed that she will continue to pursue legal action against those accused of assaulting medical staff. She also plans to seek civil compensation for the victims, covering moral, ethical, and material damages. Al-Saleh emphasized the need to end the troubling trend of assaults on doctors and warned about the strengthened penalties for those who harm public employees, especially following recent legal amendments. Under these changes, employees who are victims of assault cannot withdraw their complaints or reconcile with the accused.

The updated law specifies that individuals who insult public employees, either verbally or through gestures, while they are performing their duties, may face imprisonment for up to three months, a fine ranging from 100 to 300 dinars, or both penalties.