RIYADH, 22 August 2007 — The Cassation Court yesterday sentenced five expatriate workers of different Arab nationalities to jail and various numbers of lashes for stealing livestock in the Al-Kharj area.
A judge sentenced the men according to the severity of their crimes. One was sentenced to five years and handed 500 lashes, a second was jailed for four years and handed 400 lashes, two were handed three years and 300 lashes, while a fifth was sent to jail for a year and handed 120 lashes.
“The police had proved the case with substantial evidence that the gang had committed thefts and had been operating in the Al-Kharj area, which is 80 kilometers from Riyadh. They stole cattle from innocent farmers, who earn their daily bread from their livestock,” said the judge, while passing the judgment.
He added that the men confessed to previous cattle thefts in the area and told the court that they would sell the stolen animals in the local market.
Riyadh police told Arab News that they managed to trace the thieves after they received a complaint from a livestock owner, whose herd had been stolen a number of times.
A police spokesman said that the public should cooperate with the authorities by immediately informing the police of thefts so that they can act quickly.
Most of these cattle thefts took place in farms owned by individual farmers. “Major dairy farms in the area have their own security arrangement. They have erected security walls surrounding the farms and appointed guards, so there is little chance for thieves to come in,” the police said.
Al-Kharj, in central Saudi Arabia where 80 percent of dairy products in Saudi Arabia come from, is home to over 120,000 cattle.
To protect the cattle from the intense heat, especially during the summer, many dairies have equipped their cattle pens with evaporative cooling systems. Using the latest technology, air-droplet cooling fans cool the cattle that take shelter under special awnings.
