775 beggars rounded up in Jeddah

JEDDAH, 4 February — Officials from the anti-beggary department in Jeddah rounded up 775 beggars from various parts of the city, Okaz newspaper reported yesterday. Although most of the beggars were wearing Saudi costumes, only two percent of them were Saudi, Saad Al-Shaharani, director of the department, said. One of the detainees, a Yemeni, said he went to mosques to beg dressed like a Saudi because he discovered that most people felt sympathy for a fellow Saudi in hardship and therefore were more generous in giving out alms.