MAKKAH, 30 July 2006 — An old Saudi woman in the holy city has approached police and other authorities with a plea to protect her from her drug-addict son. He has allegedly used methods which threaten her life in attempts to get money from her.
In her complaints, the woman says her son attempted to burn her alive a few days ago when she refused to give him money for drugs, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported. The woman said her 24-year-old son was a constant user of hashish; she said she had tried to help him but to no avail.
The woman reported to the police a few days ago when she refused to give him money that he threatened her with setting the house on fire. She thought the threat was only a ploy but he brought a can of water which he poured onto the marble floor so that she would slip and fall and be unable to escape the flames. Next he brought a gas cylinder into her bedroom and opened the valve so that the room would fill with gas. He had matches ready to start a fire and as he ran out, he threw a lighted match into the room.
The woman also ran out but slipped on the wet marble floor. She managed to crawl out and avoid being burned alive. Neighbors called the police who took the woman to hospital. The house was destroyed so she and her other sons now have nowhere to live.
The drug-addict fled the scene, stopped a car and took it by force from its Bangladeshi driver. After being informed of this incident, the police went after him and soon arrested him. His mother said that he had been arrested about two months ago when she complained of his beating her but that he had been let off.
