“These people should be punished, as they take the rights of others,” said Fehaid Al-Harithy, a Saudi.

Falih Al-Harbi, another Saudi, said he had learned that some officials in charge of assessing damages and compensation after the Jeddah floods earlier this year were registering names of people who were not actual victims. “If this report is true, deterrent punishment should be given against such officials,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Muhammad Al-Garni, a spokesman from Civil Defense, said some of the beneficiaries of food baskets distributed following the Jeddah floods were not real victims.

“About 40 percent of individuals who applied for compensations after the floods were fraudsters, as they did not have any damages,” he pointed out. He said as many as 269 fraudsters had registered for compensation during the floods in Jeddah. “We have taken action against those who exploit the situation and take undue benefit from such relief supplies and compensations,” he said.

A committee comprising representatives from the governorate, Civil Defense and police has been looking into cases of 96 fraudsters who tried to get compensation following the Jeddah floods, Al-Garni said. Some of them produced false certificates to prove the death of their loved ones to get compensation. Later, authorities found that deaths had occurred before the floods.

“One man forged the death certificate of his daughter to get SR1 million compensation by changing the date,” the spokesman said, adding that the daughter had died before the floods. Another person claimed that his mother was one of the flood victims but could not provide any proof. Similar cases were also reported in Yanbu and Madinah where undeserving people received food and accommodation allowances.

When Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered payment of SR2,000 as monthly unemployment allowance many people, who are employed, tried to get that money using various tricks. Deputy Labor Minister Abdul Wahid Al-Humaid estimated the number of people applied for the unemployment benefit at nearly two million.

“Most of these names were repeated and the list included students and employees,” he said.

The deputy minister said the allowance would be given only to job-seekers.

“We have set out certain conditions for the payment and the system will be ready shortly,” he said.

Job-seekers should apply for jobs through the labor offices.

“We want to set out a database of Saudi job-seekers in order find employment for them in private companies,” he said.