JEDDAH: There are concerns bogus Health Ministry officials are visiting homes with the intention of robbing residents. Citizens and expatriatwes have been circulating warnings via SMS messages about the con men, although the Ministry of Health has denied the rumors.
The messages claim fake officials would tell residents they are spraying the property with detergents against the H1N1 virus, when in fact they are actually spraying anesthesia to send occupants into a deep sleep.
A number of citizens and expatriates have asked the authorities to confirm or deny the rumors.
“We are used to such messages circulated through mobile phones, but security forces must look for their sources to make them pay the price of their actions,” said Saudi citizen Yousef Al-Omari. He said a month of free messages offered by mobile phone companies to their customers might have contributed to the rumors.
Ibrahim Al-Ghibaishi, another citizen, echoed Al-Omari’s sentiments. “These rumors have revived in our minds an old story about injections given during a campaign to vaccinate children against polio that could cause HIV,” he said.
In response, the Health Ministry warned people not to believe the rumors, adding it had no teams spraying houses. “We have no relation whatsoever with these messages and we have no detergents to kill the H1N1 virus,” Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Khalid Al-Mirghalani said. He said the ministry would issue a statement to inform people about its efforts against the virus.
Spokesman for police in Riyadh Lt. Col. Sami Al-Shiwairikh denied any truth to the rumors and said nobody in the capital had reported any such incident so far. He called on people not to believe the rumors and to avoid spreading them further.
Director of Health Affairs in Yanbu Dr. Abdul Rahman ibn Abdullah Al-Saadi added Health Ministry personnel have official identification cards.
A Yanbu security official confirmed their operations room has not received any complaints about houses robbed by fake officials so far.
