Kidnappers get five years

A local court sentenced two Asian men to five years in jail and 3,000 lashes each for kidnapping one of their compatriots.
The men, who pleaded guilty, were seeking a ransom from a wealthy relative of the victim, who had come to the Kingdom only recently.
According to a police statement in court, the men had taken the victim to a farm in the south of the capital and called his relative demanding the ransom money. The police did not reveal the ransom amount demanded by the perpetrators. The abductors had not harmed the victim. The kidnappers were arrested after the relative contacted police.
Meanwhile, in a major effort to wipe out beggary from the city, Riyadh police rounded up more than 2,000 beggars within two months, it was announced yesterday.
According to an official from Riyadh police, during this period, officers had arrested 2,192 beggars in the city. He added those arrested were mostly foreigners.
The police called on the public not to encourage beggary on the streets, adding there are charitable and social service organizations to help such people in the city.
A study in 2007 said 83,000 homeless children were roaming the streets of Saudi Arabia. According to the study, the children were believed to have been brought in from neighboring countries to work as camel jockeys and later used for selling low-priced goods, as well as to beg at traffic light intersections from cars passing by.
The study also mentioned that in 2005 the Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs acknowledged around 300 children were crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border on a monthly basis and claimed more than half of those street kids were of Saudi origin and more than half were girls.