JEDDAH, 2 June — Security officers have mounted a manhunt after an Egyptian supervisor at a cleaning and maintenance company here fled with salaries of several of his workers. The supervisor took signatures of 17 cleaning workers under him telling them that they were required to sign the register — written in Arabic — to get their iqamas.
Police questioned the management of the company, which has contracts with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Propagation and Guidance, after the workers — from India and Bangladesh — lodged a complaint against non-payment of salaries.
Saleh Al-Shahry, imam and khateeb of Ahmad ibn Hanbel Mosque in Al-Adel district where the workers had been posted for cleaning and maintenance work, has informed the ministry that the Egyptian had told him that he had taken the signatures of the workers without paying them their salaries for the past seven months.
Al-Shahry said he had warned the supervisor of the dangerous consequences of his action but the man had pledged to return the money soon and pleaded for keeping the matter secret. The company’s owner said he was not aware of the irregularity.
Security officials told Arab News that they had taken steps in coordination with the company to track down the swindler. All company officials involved in the affair would be investigated, they added.
In their petition, the workers charged that they had not been issued iqamas even though seven months had passed since their arrival in the Kingdom.
