JEDDAH,9 March 2006 — When Emah H. was 12 years old he got on a motorcycle in downtown Jeddah for a joyride down its narrow, crowded streets. Emah, now 32, recalled to Al-Eqtisadiah, a sister publication of Arab News, that he accidentally hit a pedestrian. He fled the scene of the accident and was later told that the victim had died moments after arriving at the hospital.
This started a 20-year exile for Emah. Thinking he would be arrested, possibly tortured under interrogation and sentenced to life in jail, the boy fled to a neighboring country. He left no messages for his family.
Twenty years later, after spending his adult life abroad and still feeling guilty for his childhood crime, Emah decided to turn himself in to Saudi authorities. At first he had a difficult time convincing the authorities that he was a Saudi national. Finally, after confessing, police detained him for questioning and later extradited him to Jeddah.
After an investigation into the incident, police discovered that the person Emah thought he killed had in fact survived the accident with only minor injuries to his leg. Emah was reunited with his family, but sadly found out that his father had died two years ago.
