JEDDAH: Saudi courts in the Kingdom have received 450 complaints from expatriates over the past 10 months about their sponsors delaying payment of their salaries.

Most cases were filed in Riyadh with 112 complaints, followed by 98 in Makkah, 86 in Madinah, 64 in the southern region, and 22 each in Al-Jouf and the Eastern Province. There were 14 cases each in Asir, Al-Qasim, Tabuk, Najran, Al-Baha and Jazan.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Judicial Council has opened the Appeals Court in Jazan early this month to handle 20 cases. Sheikh Salman bin Mohammed Al-Nashwan, general secretary of the council and official spokesman, said there are now 14 appeals courts, covering the entire country.

He said the council, with the Ministry of Justice, is providing all the infrastructure and equipment needed by the court. This comes as the justice ministry launched its online query system for people to monitor the progress of their cases.

Litigants will be able to follow up on decisions and other matters directly without having to return to the courts for information.