JEDDAH, 18 August 2004 — A security officer in Taif is facing investigation for beating up an expatriate worker and quarrelling with other workers at a jewelry shop in the city.
The man, according to Al-Watan daily, entered the showroom of Abdullatif Gold and Jewelry introducing himself as a member of the Saudization Committee.
The newspaper said the officer, accompanied by a subordinate, told the workers to show their IDs. He also asked one of the workers to remove the camera installed in a corner of the shop to monitor clients.
When the worker refused, the officer assaulted him, the paper said quoting Abdul Wahab Al-Anani, the shop’s owner. The officer later asked his subordinate to arrest the worker and take him to the police jeep.
According to the paper, the man also entered the showroom’s accounts office and quarreled with Anani, who complained to the Taif police chief Maj. Gen. Musaed Al-Otaibi.
Otaibi’s assistant Brig. Saad Al-Thubaity soon arrived at the shop and arrested the man to question him. The expatriate worker was taken to hospital for treatment.
A security source later told the daily that the officer had no connection with the Saudization committee. He is in charge of a committee for granting amnesty to prisoners in Taif.
“Investigation is still under way to establish what prompted the officer’s indecent behavior,” the source said.
Meanwhile, a 50-year-old man opened fire on a woman in Yanbu Al-Bahr on Sunday. Police later arrested the man, who was trying to commit suicide after the murder attempt.
According to Al-Madinah daily, the woman is still in the ICU of the Royal Commission Hospital. She was shot in the head, stomach and chest.
