2 days ago
Kuwait has announced a five-day public holiday to be marked at the end of this month. The holiday was announced by the Cabinet as part of its weekly meeting. The decision declares Tuesday, February 25 to Thursday, February 27 as holidays marking National and Liberation Days 2025. Kuwait announces public holiday With Friday and Saturday being a typical weekend in the country, the regular working schedule will resume on Sunday, March 2. A statement on the state-run KUNA news agency website said: “The public holiday is for government bodies, authorities, and institutions, but entities with singular working hours are to decide their own schedules.”
3 days ago
Kuwait’s top appeals court has upheld a death sentence earlier given to a citizen convicted of murdering his wife and slicing up her body. The convict in his 50s was charged with deliberately murdering his Kuwaiti wife in November 2022 and dismembering her body into pieces before tossing them into garbage containers in different areas of the country. The crime came to the attention of authorities after a Kuwaiti woman had filed a report that her sister had been missing since October 2022, according to a security source. The complainant expressed suspicions that her sister might have been harmed by her husband, noting that her phone had been turned off, and she had not attended the wedding of two of her nephews. In response to the sister’s legal complaint, the husband was arrested. Initially, he denied having any idea about her disappearance. Police doubted the husband’s denial after he looked confused. Upon examining his phone, it was found that his last call with the missing woman dated back to October, 2022. With intense investigations, the man admitted to killing her by strangulation due to marital disagreements. He also admitted to cutting the victim’s body into 20 pieces and throwing them […]
3 days ago
Kuwait will impose a fine of 500 dinars (Dh5,958) and a jail term of up to six months on those who leave children under the age of 10 unattended in parked vehicles. Brigadier Mohammed Al Subhan, head of the Unified Gulf Traffic Week 2025 Committee, announced that leaving a child under 10 alone in a parked vehicle is now classified as a traffic violation. The driver will be held accountable if harm comes to the child, as per the Child Protection Law. Penalties for this offence include up to six months in prison, a fine of 500 dinars, or both. He also emphasised that children under 10 must sit in the back seat and be properly secured. While traffic officers can directly issue such violations, AI cameras are now capable of detecting seatbelt violations. All offenses are processed electronically and sent to violators via the “Sahel” app.
3 days ago
Kuwaiti police are investigating the death of an expatriate found hanged to death in a shared residence. The incident was recently discovered in the Hawalli governorate south of Kuwait City after authorities received a report about a request for medical assistance. But when the paramedics arrived, they found out that an expatriate aged 58 already dead inside the bathroom of a shared apartment with a rope around his neck, a security source said. “After the expatriate’s death was confirmed, police and public prosecution were notified, as the forensic evidence personnel suspected that the incident might be a murder,” the source added. Accordingly, police have kept in custody an expatriate, the dead person’s roommate, who had reported the incident. The roommate said in interrogations that he believed that financial reasons were behind the suicide. He added that his colleague had complained to him about his family’s demands for money that he could not afford. Forensic evidence personnel are to examine the body and the site where it was found to determine whether there is any criminal suspicion, or the expatriate had committed suicide. Two deaths Kuwaiti media has recently reported about suicide-induced deaths. Last month, two expatriates took their lives in Kuwait. […]
4 days ago
Seven employees from Kuwait’s Ministry of Justice have been arrested on charges of forging attendance records and unlawfully seizing public funds, the Ministry of Interior has announced. The arrests are part of an ongoing crackdown on fraud and corruption within government institutions. According to the Criminal Security Sector, the suspects engaged in an elaborate scheme using counterfeit silicon fingerprints to manipulate the ministry’s biometric attendance system. The fraudulent practice allowed them to clock in and out on behalf of absent employees, ensuring that salaries continued to be paid for work that was never performed. A detailed investigation by the Counterfeiting and Forgery Crimes Department of the General Department of Criminal Investigations uncovered substantial evidence linking the employees to the scheme. During searches, authorities seized seven fake silicon fingerprints allegedly used in the fraudulent activity. Officials believe the case may be part of a wider network of misconduct and are now working with relevant agencies to identify additional violations. The arrested individuals, along with the seized evidence, have been referred to the Public Prosecution for further proceedings. Authorities have vowed to take strict action against those found guilty of tampering with official recordsand misappropriating public funds. The Ministry of Interior reaffirmed […]
5 days ago
Kuwait is set to implement strict new penalties for drivers caught using mobile phones or other handheld devices while driving, as part of an effort to curb distracted driving and improve road safety. Starting April 22, motorists found using their phones while on the road will face a fine of 75 Kuwaiti dinars (Dh895 or $245), the General Traffic Department has announced. More serious violations, if referred to court, could result in up to three months in jail, fines ranging between 150 and 300 dinars, or both penalties. Authorities say the move is aimed at reducing road accidents, with distracted driving being one of the leading causes of collisions globally. “Using a phone while driving takes a driver’s focus away from the road, increasing the risk of accidents,” a traffic department official said. “These penalties are designed to deter such dangerous behavior and encourage safer driving habits.” Officials urged motorists to adhere to the new rules by using hands-free devices if necessary or pulling over safely before checking their phones. The General Traffic Department has advised drivers to stay updated on traffic regulations through official government announcements, emphasizing that the new penalties are designed to protect lives and promote responsible […]
5 days ago
A wave of cryptocurrency fraud has struck Kuwait, leaving investors stunned after an estimated 40 million Kuwaiti dinars ($130 million) disappeared in just hours. This financial blow, one of the largest in the country’s digital trading history, followed the collapse of a newly introduced cryptocurrency called “Bitcoin Kuwait.” Traders had invested heavily in the asset, only for it to collapse almost immediately after its launch. The scheme, allegedly orchestrated by an anonymous developer over three years, was first exposed by Dr. Safaa Zaman, a professor of computer science at Kuwait University and president of the Kuwait Society for Information Security. Dr. Zaman took to social media platform X, revealing that the creator of “Bitcoin Kuwait” vanished with the funds, leaving behind many victims—mostly young and inexperienced investors. “Where is the oversight, where is the legislation, and where is the fraudster?” she asked, pointing to the regulatory failures that allowed such a massive fraud to unfold. Despite the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s refusal to license Bitcoin trading in Kuwait, no effective safeguards are in place to protect the public from cryptocurrency scams. Dr. Zaman noted that the Central Bank of Kuwait officially prohibits dealings with digital currencies, but enforcement measures […]
6 days ago
Kuwaiti police arrested two individuals, including a citizen, for possessing drugs in a school parking lot. During an inspection tour in the Al Jahra governorate in northwestern Kuwait, security patrols became suspicious of a car parked in a lot designated for a local school with two people inside. Upon approaching the car and inquiring about their identities, police noticed that the individuals appeared to be in an abnormal state. After gathering their data and verifying their identities, it was found that one of them was a Kuwaiti man and the other a Gulf national. Both had criminal records. One of them was wanted for a theft case, while the other had been sentenced to one year in prison, Al Rai newspaper reported, quoting a security source. A search of their car revealed five bags containing the narcotic substance locally known as Shabu, the source added. In recent months, Kuwait has ramped up efforts to combat drug smuggling and has reported several foiled attempts. Last week, the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry stated that anti-drug police had seized a large haul of narcotics, including around 18 kg of various drugs and 12,000 intoxicating pills. The contraband was seized across 17 different cases, including hashish, marijuana, […]
7 days ago
An expatriate, caught selling rotten food, is facing deportation from Kuwait amid a security crackdown on lawbreakers there. Kuwaiti police had arrested the expatriate dealing in spoiled food and cleaning materials in Jleeb Al Shuyoukh area, south west of Kuwait City. While touring the area this week as part of security deployment in the populous area, police spotted a person sitting in a dirt site with a table in front of him displaying food and cleaning materials for sale, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba reported, quoting a security source. As soon as he saw the police patrol, he tried to escape, but he was eventually arrested. Investigations revealed he was an Asian national, the source added. Kuwait, a country with an overall population of 4.9 million, most of whom are foreigners, is seeking to address its demographic imbalance and regulate the labour market. Authorities have recently launched a nationwide clampdown on illegal foreign residents who failed to take advantage of a grace period to rectify their status. Thousands have since been apprehended. A new residency law, which came into effect earlier this month, offers potential reconciliation and the payment of fines by violators. However, this law does not apply to expatriates […]
7 days ago
A Kuwaiti court has sentenced a citizen to two years in prison for impersonating an advisor at the Royal Court and forging identities. The verdict issued by the Criminal Court came after the man was charged with exploiting his alleged position and attending diplomatic events. He was arrested in a police ambush. It is not clear when the case surfaced. Kuwait has recently uncovered a series of forgery cases and some offenders have been penalized. In January, a Kuwaiti court sentenced five people, including a traffic employee, to five years in prison each for involvement in forging vehicle licences and illegally selling them. In addition to the traffic worker, the defendants included a Kuwaiti citizen and three people without official documents. They were charged with forging licences of 54 vehicles linked to instalments amounting to KD440,000 ($1.4 million) due to a company. The prime defendant, i.e. the traffic employee, had colluded with the co-defendants to fraudulently re-sell the vehicles to unsuspecting persons. In a separate case, the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry last week reported that authorities had apprehended an expatriate accused of forging official documents in exchange for money. The suspect, an Egyptian national, was found to have forged medical reports […]