SAUDI ARABIA: ‘Abu Kab’ loses appeal after killing three while ‘drifting’ in a car

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The Saudi supreme court has upheld a verdict against Faisal Otaibi, known as ‘Abu Kab’ (which translates roughly as ‘the guy with the baseball cap’), the disgraced naval officer found guilty of killing three people, two of them minors, in a stunt-driving accident four years ago.

Otaibi was sentenced to 3,000 lashes, 20 years in prison and a lifetime ban on driving after his car spun out of control during a ‘drifting’ stunt, killing brothers Ahmed and Abdul Aziz, ages 14 and 11, and 18-year-old Ibrahim.

Illegal drag racing and stunt driving are hugely popular among young men in Saudi Arabia, fueled mostly by high unemployment, boredom and large expendable incomes.

Although illegal stunt driving and drifting have resulted in a number of deaths, professional drifting is considered a legitimate motor sport, and competitions around the Gulf bolster its popularity. Next month, Abu Dhabi will host European drift-racing champions at the Barbican Turbo festival, even as road-safety campaigners denounce footage of car tricks posted on video-sharing sites such as YouTube.

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut