A Cairo court has sentenced Egyptian singer Eman Baher Darwish to a three-year prison term with hard labor and a fine of one thousand Egyptian pounds for writing bad checks without having a balance to Fatima Naseem Mohammad. The singer had written several checks for Fatima that amounted to fifty thousand Egyptian pounds.
The case goes back to 1996 when Eman had established a music production company with Aiman Mursi Shahateh, who had to leave Egypt and went to the United States. Aiman had signed on blank paper before his departure in case his signature was needed for legal paperwork.
Eman had taken advantage of the fact that Aiman was gone and used his signature to transfer his share of the company. Eman had managed to come to a settlement with Aiman and settled the matter peacefully after Aiman discovered what had happened.
The singer had then bought the company’s headquarters, which was owned by Fatima for 330 thousand EGP, which was agreed to be paid in three checks. When Fatima received the first check she discovered that the singer did not have a balance and so filed a lawsuit against him.
Eman is the grandson of the Egyptian legend Said Darwish and had obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Alexandria university. He had stopped his singing career for five years due to the situation of the music industry, which in his opinion was going down the drain. The singer has returned to his career stressing that he will attempt to revive the music industry.
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
