ShareKUWAIT: The interior ministry has busted a gang counterfeiting official documents for the Filipino community in Kuwait. The ministry said in a statement that the counterfeiters had been apprehended upon guidelines by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to clamp down on any violators of the country’s laws.
Personnel of the ministry’s department of combating counterfeiting succeeded, in collaboration with the ministry of foreign affairs and the Philippine Embassy, in arresting 33 Filipinos who issued fraudulent documents for members of the community, such as study certificates, marriage contracts and driving permits. They have been referred to relevant authorities for further legal procedures against them.
Meanwhile, a committee to study the status of expatriates’ driving licenses and review data has completed its final report to be sent to Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, stressing an applicant’s minimum salary should not be less than KD 600. “This condition will remain without any reduction, with the possibility of increasing it in the future if necessary,” sources said, adding the committee is against the term “monthly income”, as expatriates can have another income from another job, by which the total amount they receive becomes KD 600 or more.
“The report includes linking the issuance of a driving license electronically with the Department of Residence Affairs at the interior ministry, the Public Authority of Manpower and the Public Authority for Civil Information, so that the data related to an expatriate applying for the license is present and sufficient to issue or reject the license, as well as detect any transactions done illegally,” sources said.
The sources indicated the report stresses the withdrawal of driving licenses retroactively from those who do not meet the conditions, which means that increasing the salary condition can lead to the possibility of withdrawing the driving license of many expatriates. The number of expatriates is around 2.9 million in Kuwait out of a population of 4.4 million.
