Saudi top court rejects death for Filipino

Saudi Arabia’s top court overturned a death sentence against a Filipino worker who stole a bus eight years ago and rammed into a car, killing four people, including a family of three, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The defendant, identified as Rigo, was sentenced to death by a court of first instance in the western town of Makkah after the crime, prompting him to appeal the verdict.

A Court of Appeals again convicted him of homicide and issued a capital punishment sentence. He appealed again with the Supreme Court.

‘Sada’ newspaper said the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and referred the case to a court in the Western Red Sea port of Jeddah.

“The court in Jeddah decided to adjourn hearings until after Eid Al Adha break,” the paper said.

Court records showed Rigo waited for the bus driver to step out for dawn prayers at a mosque before stealing the vehicle and driving away. He jumped many red signals after he was chased by the police, ramming into a parked car and killing four people, a Saudi woman, her son and her daughter.

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