JEDDAH, 18 January — Three expatriates who assaulted a policeman were arrested after a 12-hour search operation in the suburbs of Makkah, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The policeman was beaten up and left unconscious on a hill.
Abdah Fakir, a Burmese, was taken into custody earlier the same night when found wandering the streets in a drunken state, Okaz daily said. The man, who was not carrying identity papers, told the police that he had left his iqama at home. So a policeman accompanied Fakir to his home in the Sharashef hill to retrieve his iqama.
The vehicle was duly parked at the foot of the hill and the policeman walked with the expat to the hilltop. On the way, two other men appeared and jumped on the policeman. In a torrent of violent blows and kicks, the policeman fell down unconscious. Fearing they may have killed the man, the Burmese expats fled.
After regaining consciousness, the policeman crawled back down to the foot of the hill, where the driver of the jeep was still waiting for him. The driver reported the matter to his superiors.
Police teams were sent to comb the hilly area and the three fugitives were arrested. The policeman is recovering in hospital.
Meanwhile, a Saudi national raged into an office in north Jeddah on Wednesday and shot dead two of its employees. Police launched a manhunt for the criminal who fled to the Bahra mountains. The motive behind the crime was not known.
