Egyptian tycoon's son to face trial for manslaughter

Haitham Kamel Abu Ali is accused of killing woman while driving under influence of drugs and alcohol

Vehicles driving along a street in Cairo. Getty Images

The son of an Egyptian business tycoon has been sent for trial on manslaughter charges after a car crash in which a woman died on a Red Sea motorway.

Prosecution said Haitham Kamel Abu Ali was speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road while under the influence of alcohol and hashish.

The collision on the evening January 22 killed interior designer Mai Ishaq and injured her Uber driver.

Mr Abu Ali, whose father owns resorts on the Red Sea coast, also faces charges of deliberately driving on the wrong side of the road and possessing hashish, the prosecution said.

A date for trial has yet to be set. If convicted, Mr Abu Ali could be sent to prison for seven years.

Ishaq, who would have been  43 this week, was travelling between the resorts of Sahl Hasheeh and El Gouna when the crash happened, a friend of her family told The National.

She was killed instantly and her driver suffered minor injuries. Mr Abu Ali was unhurt.

The case has been discussed on social media networks in the past week.

On television talk shows, hosts applauded what they regarded as the swift action of police and prosecutors.

Sensing that Mr Abu Ali's family wealth and prestige might become an issue, some hosts told viewers that the justice system would decide.

“Egypt is a nation that respects the law,” said talk show host Khairy Ramadan on Saturday night.

"Where else in this world can you see police and prosecutors acting so swiftly? Who can possibly interfere in police and prosecution work?”

Ishaq’s friend denied that blood money would become an issue.

A veteran criminal lawyer said such a payment would not secure an acquittal or mitigate any sentence.

“Mai’s family is aware that the family of the accused will at some point get in touch but that had not happened," the friend said. "Talk of blood money is pure fiction."

The case caused a stir in Egypt about wealth, influence and their relationship to criminal justice.

Amar Hassan, a sociologist and author, said that issue did not mean a corrupt judiciary, but it pointed to the ability of the rich to hire the country’s most effective lawyers.

"Like everywhere else in the world, we in Egypt have a class of businessmen who can, through their large resources, defend their own very well," Mr Hassan told The National.

“But this is the age of social media, where nothing can stay a secret, and social media is a source of pressure on authorities to allow the law to take its course.”