Nearly 12,000 foreigners have been deported from Kuwait for traffic violations in the past two-and-a-half years, the country’s traffic chief has revealed.
Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali said the crackdown on traffic offences, which has been ramped up in the past month, would continue for the foreseeable future.
“Deportation of violating expatriates is not going to stop, especially of those carrying passengers illegally, in which case a person would be in violation of traffic and labour regulations,” Maj Gen Al-Ali, the Interior Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs, told Arabic daily Al-Rai.
More expatriates, who make up about two-thirds of the population, also would have their driver’s licences suspended in the near future, with plans to file cases in the traffic court against those with at least KD80 ($280) worth of unpaid fines.
Al-Ali said 11,800 people had been exported since he moved into his role, while 3000 vehicles had been impounded.
At least KD24m worth of fines had been issued. Only KD4m had been paid, with KD6m registered against individual expatriates, KD2m against nationals and KD16m against companies and state departments.
Al-Ali made headlines last month when he defended the deportations by comparing running a red light to premeditated or attempted murder and saying that using a private vehicle as a taxi violated labour and residency laws, while driving without a licence was equal to working without a permit.
He claims the deportations have only been for serious repeat offenders but the Kuwait Labour Union argues they are illegal and a violation of human rights.
“Our procedures are necessary to save lives, with average statistics indicating that 450 people are killed and 3,000 are injured annually due to traffic accidents,” Al-Ali said.
During an interview with Al Watan TV, Al-Ali said he had not been discriminatory.
“There have been doctors among the people deported, including a surgeon caught driving without a license for three years,” he said.
Authorities also had impounded a vehicle owned by Minister of Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah after repeated violations by his personal driver.
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