RIYADH, 18 March 2008 — The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said yesterday that investigations are still under way regarding the involvement of two of its members in a high speed car chase that led to the deaths of a young man and woman in the Tabuk area on Sunday.
“It cannot be said with certainty, until after the investigations are over, that they (the commission members) were responsible for this horrible accident,” said the head of the Tabuk branch of the commission, Suleiman Al-Inazi, in a press statement yesterday. “The concerned authorities are investigating the case and a statement will be released once the investigation is over.”
According to eyewitnesses, members of the commission were in a high-speed chase of a young Saudi man with a woman passenger in his Toyota Camry on the Tabuk-Madinah highway. The driver of the Camry hit a truck on the highway, causing the car to go up in flames. The driver and his fellow passenger were suspected by the commission members of wrongdoing.
Civil Defense and police units at the scene said the man’s body was completely burned and the woman’s body had been cut into pieces.
Reports confirm that the two commission members, who were seen by eyewitnesses in the area of the accident, are currently being interrogated by the local police for their involvement in the accident. As per law, commission members are directed not to engage in car chases whether on highways or within city limits. Their responsibility ends with reporting to the police information concerning runaway suspect’s car, license plate and the location of the alleged violation.
Officials of the commission have consistently denied in statements to the local media that members have been involved in any car chases. They have also said that if a member were proven to have been involved in a car chase, he would be subjected to punishment.
According to instructions from the Interior Ministry, commission members are also required by law to hand over any suspect to local police. This directive has allegedly been violated repeatedly in the past by commission members, according to human rights officials in Saudi Arabia.
A car chase, which was allegedly responsible for the death of a Saudi girl and the serious injury of a Saudi man, occurred in the northern city of Arar two years ago.
In a similar case in Taif, the authorities are investigating the alleged involvement of commission members in a car chase that led to an accident in which the driver was seriously hurt. The woman who was in the car was handed over to her relatives.
According to local reports, last week a commission vehicle blocked a road in Taif to prevent a Mercedes Benz from passing. A witness said while another commission car was chasing the vehicle, the driver apparently noticed the roadblock ahead, so he turned into another street, hitting another car. Civil defense units had to be called to free the man from the mangled car.
“I was summoned to the police station to testify what I had seen and to say whether the commission had been involved in the car chase and I did. I still stand by my testimony that they were there and were responsible for what happened,” said the witness.
“The driver reversed when he saw a commission car blocking the road and waiting for him in the distance,” the witness added. He also said that after the accident, the commission vehicles quickly left the scene so as not to be present when the police arrived.
While many Saudis support the commission’s role in society, they also say its members exploit their broad mandate to interfere in people’s lives.
