Representatives of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) have arrested an Arab national residing in the Kingdom for sitting with an unrelated girl in private (a case of khulwa).
The man was with a girl in a vehicle parked close to one of the main marketplaces in Madinah, Sultan Al-Mutairi, spokesman for Haia, said.
Haia representatives were on a routine field tour Saturday evening when they spotted the vehicle parked in an unlit area.
On approaching the vehicle, the Haia representatives saw a young man and a girl inside, Al-Mutairi said.
The man was asked to come out of the car for an identity check. When asked about the girl, he said she worked in a shop and that he had known her for years. He also said that she was not a relative.
The girl’s father was called to come and take charge of the girl. Two people came after the call. One of them claimed he was the girl’s father. He verbally attacked the Haia representatives and made a number of threats. The other man spirited the girl away from the Haia vehicle. The case was referred to the concerned agency for further action, the Haia official said.
Al-Mutairi said that Haia is keenly aware of its role in protecting and defending people’s honor and preventing vice.
Free mixing
A report issued by the Ministry of Justice meanwhile said that offenses involving free mixing without a male guardian account for the largest share of the 3,582 cases filed against female defendants in 2013.
More than 450 assault and battery charges followed the 593 cases of women being found in seclusion with unrelated men.
The report highlights the cultural specificities of this part of the world, since many defendants were reported for ill-conduct toward parents, helping women escape from their homes, harboring married women without the consent of the husbands, practicing black magic and uttering profanities.
Other prominent cases include 333 counts of indecent conduct, 325 cases of prostitution and 247 cases of theft. There were a similar number of cases involving drug and alcohol possession.
Among others, there were 42 murder cases, 30 cases of marital abuse, 27 cases of intrusion, 25 cases involving malicious intent, 16 cases of money laundering, 14 cases of fraud and 12 cases of betrayal.
There were a few reports on human trafficking.
Arab resident arrested for khulwa
