JEDDAH, 16 June 2006 — An expatriate who fled the country after allegedly stealing money from his employer has left his wife and four children behind in poverty, a local Arabic newspaper reported yesterday. The woman says she is now facing accusations that she is a partner in crime with her husband.
The husband of Arab expat Umm Najla was a salesman in the southern city of Abha in Asir, about 500 kilometers south of Jeddah, before he decamped with the company’s SR125,000 two months ago, according to his employer and sponsor.
Najla and her four children are now surviving on the generosity of neighbors after her husband left them saying he would be traveling to the city of Najran. Instead, it is alleged that the man actually traveled up to Jeddah with his sponsor’s money and left the country through the King Abdul Aziz International Airport. It is not known how the man was able to leave the country without an approved exit visa from his employer.
She said that she learned of her husband’s alleged crime when the employer threatened legal action against her. Najla said she spoke to her husband two weeks ago in a phone conversation where she tried to persuade him to return the money. She said he refused and said he is seeking divorce.
