Despite the closed plea deal: the former senior officer appealed the fine amount - and won

Reserve Colonel Shuli Eyal, former director of the Vocational Training Division at the Ministry of Labor, appealed the fine imposed on him as part of a plea deal, arguing it exceeds the maximum amount set by law. The District Court accepted the appeal and reduced the fine from 200,000 shekels to 75,300 shekels, while leaving the other components of the sentence in place.

Reserve Colonel Shuli Eyal, former director of the Vocational Training Division at the Ministry of Labor, appealed the fine imposed on him as part of a closed plea deal, arguing it exceeds the maximum amount set by law. The Lod District Court accepted the appeal and reduced the fine from 200,000 shekels to 75,300 shekels, the maximum amount for the misdemeanor of which he was convicted. The state admitted in the hearing that a legal error had been made by all parties to the deal, but opposed reducing only the fine and asked to return the case to the Magistrate's Court for a new sentencing hearing. The court rejected the state's request, given the passage of time and the length of proceedings, and left the other components of the sentence in place: three months of community service minus one day and a suspended sentence. Eyal was convicted of breach of trust without fraud, in a case where he exploited his position to ask a college director to recruit buyers for a product he owned, creating a conflict of interest.