JEDDAH, 14 September 2004 — A Saudi engineer has invented an instrument to prevent car theft. The device which is linked to the car owner’s mobile phone can monitor the criminal in the car.
Maher Mustafa Sunbul, the engineer, said the device would act on the fuel injection system to stop the vehicle, illuminate the front and rear lights, set off an alarm and send a message to the owner’s mobile when the thief drives the car.
“The owner will be able to control the car using his mobile,” Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted Sunbul as saying. “As long as the thief drives the car within the range of the mobile, the owner will be able to control it,” he said, adding that the device would cost about SR300.
The invention is significant at this time as militants usually use stolen cars to carry out terrorist attacks. They are also used for smuggling drugs and weapons.
Sunbul said he was holding talks with specialized companies to market his invention. Asked about efforts to get the device patented, he said that the procedures at King Abdul Aziz City of Science and Technology were complicated, adding that they prevent inventors from approaching the organization.
“Moreover the procedure does not protect the rights of inventors. Patent certificates in advanced countries insist that inventors be given a percentage of the value of every one of their products sold,” he pointed out.
