MADINAH: The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrested an Arab expatriate on charges of having illegal relations with a young girl in a mobile shop in Madinah, according to Yasser Al-Matrafi, director of public relations at the commission’s local branch.
Officials did not mention the girl’s age but reported that she had left her “school bag” on a table not far from where she and the man — also of unreported age — were found engaging in sexual relations.
The commission said the shop run by the man was under observation following several complaints from local residents that they suspected the shop was a front for immoral activities, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported yesterday. On Sunday, commission members entered the shop a little after a girl student went inside. The members could not see anyone inside though they saw the school bag.
On closer examination they discovered a hidden doorway that led to a bedroom where the man and the girl were discovered.
The commission said it found evidence the man was recording his sex encounters and possibly using the digital images for blackmail. The commission also said the man’s mobile phone contained pornography and prurient images of him with different women.
In accordance with Interior Ministry regulations, the commission members handed over the suspect to police for further investigation.
Extramarital sex (zina) is a crime in Shariah, though premarital sex is generally treated much less severely than adultery; zina committed by a married person is a capital crime.
However, in this case it appears that the girl is being treated as a victim of sexual predation. The commission’s statement about the incident ended with a word of caution to parents to keep watch on their children’s activities.
