Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, head of the Social Development Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs in Makkah province, warned the media against publishing such stories without verifying the credibility of people who ask for help.
He added that the main task of the Ministry of Social Affairs is to help people in need, especially those who are poor and orphans. “A number of people have been found claiming they need help and were given help. After receiving help, they started begging saying they were still in need,” he said.
“We’ve found people with certificates that show they are able to work but they refuse to help themselves and want to make money the easy way,” he added.
He said advanced technology has helped the Ministry of Social Affairs detect these cases and those involved are punished.
“They are initially made to sign a letter promising not to repeat the offense. If they are caught again, they will be transferred to the appropriate authorities for punitive action,” he said.
Al-Ghamdi said it has also been found that some of these people are contacting newspapers to get their stories published and then giving journalists false information and wrong contact details.
“Sadly, there are newspapers that are publishing these stories without verifying their claims,” he added.
