JEDDAH, 15 February 2004 — Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed has ordered an investigation into alleged sales of babies in the city.
A special committee has been set up to conduct the investigation. It was ordered after police arrested a Burmese couple, Muhammad Wali Fadhel, 35, and his wife, Ameena Abul Hassan, 30, for allegedly selling their son for SR10,000 in order to alleviate their poverty.
Fadhel had allegedly used a variety of methods to sell babies to both Saudis and expatriates, the Arabic press reported. The alleged sales took place in Makkah’s Jebel Al-Noor, Sharaie and Ghassala neighborhoods.
The investigation will focus on whether the man was selling his own babies or others’. The reports did not specify how many babies the man has allegedly sold.
“After selling them he threatened the buyers that he would inform police if they did not pay more money,” Al-Nadwah Arabic daily reported. In the latest deal, he demanded SR20,000 for a baby.
Officers of the criminal investigation department in Makkah arrested the man and his wife as they were receiving SR10,000 from a Saudi who was buying a baby.
The agents moved after learning that the couple was engaged in selling babies. The couple lived in a small house in Nakasa neighborhood where expatriates from different countries are found.
Islamic scholars stated that selling babies is prohibited in Islam. “It is not allowed to sell a free person,” Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Sabouny said quoting a Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, head of the office of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, described the action as a great sin.
“If the man committed the sin without knowledge of Shariah rules, he should be given advice and guidance; otherwise he should be given deterrent punishment,” he said.
