According to a traffic police report, the Bangladeshi had no role in the accident as he was just accompanying the driver of the car who was involved in the mishap.

“After the accident the Bangladeshi was taken to Qunfuda Hospital where he was given treatment for 40 days at a cost of SR15,000. He paid only SR10,000. This prompted the hospital to send him out saying he needed the treatment of a neurologist and they did not have one,” said Ali Al-Sahari, the activist.

A group of Bangladeshi workers then took their injured compatriot to a private hospital in Jeddah where they had to pay SR20,000 for treatment. “They could arrange the payment of only SR10,000. The hospital then discharged the man for not paying the remaining amount,” he said.

The injured worker is now back in Qunfuda and is living in a remote village. He is in a coma. Al-Sahari said authorities should have tried to get financial compensation for the worker from those who caused the accident. “I request philanthropists to help this man get proper treatment.”

Meanwhile, the National Society for Human Rights has sent a letter to the health department in Qunfuda to readmit the injured worker in the hospital and provide him necessary treatment.

The NSHR said it had noticed several such cases when patients have been thrown out of hospitals and clinics for not being able to pay bills, saying it goes against the teachings of Islam.