Kuwaiti couple jailed for 6 mths, fined heavily by Sri Lankan court

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 16: A Kuwaiti man and his wife have been sentenced to six-month imprisonment by a Sri Lankan court with a five-year suspended sentence for allegedly assaulting customs officers at that country’s main airport. The court also imposed a fine of 138,000 rupees ($860) on the couple on Friday, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The couple were charged for attempting to smuggle a dog without following the established quarantine procedures. The surveillance cameras captured footage of the woman assaulting customs officials who tried to prevent the couple from proceeding.
Animals are banned from entering the island without being placed in quarantine in Sri Lanka. In the event of contravention of the directives, the animal is confiscated, and the owner could be imposed with payment of fines of up to 1,000 rupees ($ 625). The customs spokesman Vibula Minuwabitiya said, “The dog was taken from the Kuwaiti citizens and later returned to them in order to get it out from the country”.