RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan have ordered a financial reward to Bandar Al-Sharif, an employee at the Health Ministry, for his honesty and cooperation in uncovering a bribe attempt at the minister’s office, Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie announced yesterday at a press conference.
He said a national company specializing in medical equipment in collaboration with an expatriate made the bribery attempt. He did not disclose the name of the company that tried to bribe Al-Sharif.
The ministry, however, did say the reason why the unnamed company attempted to bribe the bureaucrat: It wanted Al-Sharif to cancel a financial penalty in the millions of riyals for failing to honor a ministry contract.
Al-Manie said the company would be blacklisted.
“This corrupt conduct by companies is not new as there are a number of undisclosed cases. When such a case is publicized, the aim is to send a warning message to others,” he said.
The minister cited a previous bribery case of SR1 million which was offered to Dr. Abdul Aziz Niaz, a top official at the ministry, who turned it down and informed the police. He said King Abdullah rewarded the doctor with SR1 million in cash plus the King Abdul Aziz Medal.
The minister revealed that the ministry is currently pursuing a number of financial and administrative corruption cases and is determined to uproot any form of misconduct.
Last month, eight health officials in Madinah have been charged with taking bribes from Saudi and foreign businessmen. The bribes were offered for granting licenses to open new pharmacies, shifting existing ones to new locations or for help in transferring employees’ sponsorship.
