RIYADH, 15 June 2004 — Mystery surrounds the detention, now in its sixth week, of a Filipino at Al-Shifa police station here.
Emerlito Abeto was apparently arrested for immoral conduct, but sources point to a dispute over unpaid wages they say could have given rise to trumped-up charges.
“The details about the case of Abeto, allegedly detained on the charges of immorality and sex, are still not known,” say Philippine Embassy officials, who have been trying to find out more information and solve the case in cooperation with the local authorities and the employer.
An embassy official who visited the Al-Shifa station twice managed to find out very little. A police captain confirmed the arrest but declined to give details.
Abeto is said to have been arrested for having an extra-marital affair, but the diplomatic sources were unable to say where the woman is being held.
They say they are trying to contact the sponsor for more information.
“It has come to our notice that Abeto’s employer owes him some SR30,000 in salary,” they say.
Abeto’s sponsor claims he has already settled all dues through the labor court, but Abeto told officials he had not received the money.
The complications do not stop there. “An Arabic note appearing on the passport of the suspect also indicates that (he) is an AIDS patient,” a source said. “But this may not be true.”
A number of Filipino expatriates have come forward to defend Abeto, saying Filipinos living here socialize freely among their own community in a way that does not strike them as immoral even if it may conflict with conservative Saudi customs.
