JEDDAH, 27 February 2007 — If you are cruising in your car by the side of the road, then watch out in case a kamikaze beggar attacks. The kamikaze attack has become the latest trend among beggars who find it an easy way to extort big cash from victims.

The kamikaze attack usually involves a beggar running in front of a vehicle and then pretending to be injured. When the driver gets out to see what’s happening the beggar threatens to call the police if he isn’t given money.

Many people, out of fear, fall for the scam and end up paying up to SR1,000 to avoid the hassle of going through a police report.

Such beggars stand in side roads where vehicles usually drive at a slow pace. When a vehicle approaches at a speed that would not cause injury, the beggars pretend to cross the road and hit the car. Saleem Ilyas, a 28-year-old Lebanese marketing executive, was once a victim of a kamikaze beggar. He was driving in Palestine Road looking for a cell phone shop, when suddenly an Asian man jumped in front of his vehicle.

“I was astonished, because I was driving very slowly and the collision was not as serious as the man was pretending,” he said, adding that the beggar claimed that his arm was broken and started crying as people started to crowd round him.

Ilyas said that some of the beggar’s friends came and told him to give the man some money and that he would go away before the police come. “I was so frightened and confused that I gave him SR500,” he said.

After receiving the cash, the beggar walked away with his friends and disappeared, Ilyas said.

Ahmad Omar, a 34-year-old Saudi government official, was also victim of a similar scam. Omar was driving in a side road on Sari Street when a man jumped in front him. Omar said he was driving very slow and managed to stop the vehicle before hitting the man. However, that did not stop the beggar from pretending he was hit.

“After I stopped a few inches from the beggar the man pretended to fall over the hood and fell to the ground as if he had been hit,” Omar said, adding, “I was so furious when I saw what the man had done that I got out of the car with the intention of hitting him.”

Omar said he was lucky because a policeman had noticed what had happened and arrested the beggar.

He added that the police officer advised him to be careful when driving on side roads, as there are lots of people carrying out these scams. The policeman also said that the authorities are on the lookout as this is a new trend in Jeddah.