The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) arrested 16 young students of both sexes while they were preparing for a graduation party at a rest house in north Jeddah over the weekend.

A local newspaper, quoting official sources, reported that the operations room in the commission received a tip from a citizen that a number of youngsters, males and females, were staying in the rest-house under suspicious circumstances.

A teams from the commission stalked the place for more than two hours to make sure the report was true. After monitoring the location for some time, the team barged in and arrested a number of them.

Upon searching the rest house, the team found musical instruments to celebrate a university graduation by a number of young men, who also invited female graduates to the party.

The team handed over the young men to the security forces while the girls were handed over to their parents pending investigations.