MADINAH, 22 November 2007 — Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz can sleep peacefully now that Saudi police have captured the man who has been impersonating him for eight years.
The daily Al-Madinah reported that an illegal resident of Yemeni origin had been charged with identity theft after it was discovered that he was in possession of an ID that showed he was Abdul Aziz.
Because of the crime, the real Abdul Aziz encountered many problems. According to the newspaper, the Yemeni, whose real name is Habeeb Al-Yamani, had been working for a water plant under his assumed identity. Abdul Aziz said that this caused problems when he would try to find work because the labor office would look up his background and believe that he already has a job.
“I would pass the interview and when they would ask me ‘Do you work for another company?’ I would answer ‘no’,” he said. “And I get kicked out.”
Abdul Aziz said that on numerous occasions over the years his employers would see on his social insurance papers that he had another job, and would fire him for lying to them. The truth is, of course, that the man who stole his identity was showing up on his social insurance papers.
“The heartbreaking part of all this is that I didn’t know at that time why this was happening,” said Abdul Aziz.
The story goes back to when Abdul Aziz lost his ID card and driving license in Jeddah eight years ago. He reported the loss to the authorities and replaced his identification. But, somehow, police say, Al-Yamani came into possession of Abdul Aziz’s lost ID card and proceeded to assume his identity so he could find a legitimate job in the Kingdom.
Abdul Aziz claimed that Al-Yamani also incurred debts and unpaid fines under his false identity. “The problem I might face is that he is indebted to many people and has a lot of traffic tickets,” he said.
A police spokesman said Abdul Aziz would not be responsible for the debts and fines Al-Yamani incurred. “He will be forced to pay whatever debts he has and then will be deported,” he said.
