Senior WA Muslim fined over firearm charge
A prominent Muslim leader has been fined for a minor firearm offence after getting caught up in a drug raid that had nothing to do with him.
Islamic Council of Western Australia president Rateb Jneid was fined $300 and granted a spent conviction in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday for failing to bolt in a firearm cabinet.
Police charged Dr Jneid following a series of drug raids in Perth's southern suburbs in April.
Dr Jneid was not involved in any of the drug-related offences.
Defence lawyer Shash Nigam told AAP at the time of the raid, Dr Jneid had just finished moving house and had arranged for a welder to bolt the cabinet to the ground but police raided the property the day before the booking.
Mr Nigam said Dr Jneid had been a responsible licensed firearm holder since the early 1990s and had been described by the magistrate as being of "good character".
"In terms of a result it was obviously the right one," Mr Nigam told AAP.
"It was unfortunate because it was slight tardiness, if you could call it that, on his part."
Dr Jneid was one of 12 WA Islamic leaders who meet with Premier Colin Barnett on Tuesday to discuss issues including incidents of harassment towards the local Muslim community.
