Body Found in Jeddah

JEDDAH, 4 January 2007 — The body of an Indonesian woman was recently found outside a mosque in the Al-Naim district of Jeddah. Authorities say the woman died of natural causes around two days ago.

The imam of the mosque told Al-Madinah newspaper that the body, which was wrapped in a blanket, had been left early in the morning. In Saudi Arabia, overstayers often leave the bodies of fellow overstayers in prominent places hoping that the authorities will find them and give them a proper burial. Such people do not report deaths in the proper fashion to avoid being penalized on account of their illegal residency status.