While he was driving in Ashrafieh, Ali Fehmi, the son of the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Mohammad Fehmi, was caught crossing the speed limit by security forces in the area, according to Al-Joumhouria.
However, the car he was driving is not legally registered under his name; it’s his father’s car. As such, officially, it’s the Interior Minister who received a speeding ticket.
Reportedly, the minister was informed of the incident and was assured that the speeding ticket could be canceled at once. But the minister refused the offer, insisting that his son pays the 100,000 LBP fine, and from his own money.
Not only that, but MP Fehmi also warned that any person who attempts to undo the issued ticket will be punished.
Commenting on the incident, he said he wanted his son to personally pay the fine to ensure he “learns the lesson from his own bag,” which Fehmi deemed to be a more useful way to learn from mistakes.
Minister Fehmi told Al-Joumhouria that he is keen on enforcing the law uniformly, starting “from me and my family to all citizens, who should be equal before the law regardless of their ranks and affiliations.”
On a side note, Minister Mohammad Fehmi briefly mentioned the ongoing even-odd traffic rationing in Lebanon.
He said that it will be decided whether the rationing will be extended beyond April 26th in due time, according to the results of a review of the current circumstances, “which will be conducted in due time.”
He also noted that while Lebanon’s security is generally solid thanks to the efforts of the security forces, “there is an increase in the theft rate due to the bad economic situation.”
On that, Fehmi warned of likely repercussions on the country’s security if no solutions, even if gradual ones, are implemented soon to fix the bad economy.
The aforementioned crisis recently reached a new milestone, with the value of the Lebanese pound dropping to 3,000 LBP per 1 USD for the first time in three decades.