Nepal court lets ex-prince off with warning

KATHMANDU - A court in Nepal on Wednesday found former crown prince Paras Shah guilty of disturbing the peace after he allegedly fired his gun during a drunken argument, but let him off with a warning.

Shah, heir to the Nepalese throne until it was abolished in 2008, did not attend the hearing at a district court in the southwest of the country, and officials said he would not be punished because it was his first conviction.

Shah became the first former royal ever to be arrested in Nepal last December over allegations that he let off a firearm following a late-night argument with fellow guests at an upmarket hotel.

His detention caused shock in a country where the king was once revered as the reincarnation of a Hindu god, and the royal family was seen as above the law.

Shah, who as crown prince was widely disliked for his heavy drinking and playboy lifestyle, spent two nights in police custody before being released on bail of 10,000 rupees ($140).

"The court has concluded that the former crown prince committed a public offence by disturbing the peace at the Tiger Tops hotel," court official Hari Sigdel told AFP following the hearing.

The former prince, who denied firing his gun, will have to sign a document pledging not to repeat the public order offence, Sigdel added.

Shah, 39, became heir to the throne in 2001 after his cousin, former crown prince Dipendra, shot dead nine members of his family including the king and queen in a drink-and-drugs-fuelled rampage before apparently turning his gun on himself.

Shah moved to Singapore with his wife and two children after parliament voted in 2008 to abolish the monarchy, but has since returned to Nepal.

As crown prince he enjoyed immunity from prosecution, but was accused 10 years ago of killing a popular Nepalese musician in a suspected drunk-driving incident outside the royal palace.

Mass! street demonstrations called for him to be punished, but no charges were ever brought against him and an army officer later claimed responsibility for the incident.


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