JEDDAH: The number of criminal cases against the Burmese community in the Kingdom, especially drug cases, has come down sharply following the correction of their residency status, an official has said.

Burmese nationals have been granted residency cards free of charge, enabling them to benefit from social, health care and educational services, Abdullah Qarrash, chairman of the body set up to oversee the correction process, said.

His comments came during the inauguration of an awareness campaign on the correction process in Madinah on Saturday, local media reported on Sunday.

Qarrash said the correction scheme enjoys the support of the leadership of the Kingdom, and the very special care and attention of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal because it is one of the components of the project to develop random neighborhoods in Makkah.

“The project was aimed at correcting the status of Burmese community members and improving their conditions, and it has achieved many accomplishments after it has contributed to the integration of the Burmese members into the Saudi community,” said Qarrash.

Representatives of the Directorate General of Anti-Narcotics, Passports Department and Labor Ministry were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Qarrash said members of the Burmese community are still in need of awareness programs, especially in the area of residency and labor laws.

“One of the problems is the confusion among the community between the objectives of the correction scheme and their rights and obligations within the framework of the residency and labor systems,” he said. “Many of them (Burmese) think they are exempt from regulations, which prompts them to be lax. As a result of this misunderstanding, the runaway issue in both public and private sectors became one of the biggest problems for the Burmese community. For instance, only in one company in Makkah, the number of those absent from work or those who escaped amounted to 800 Burmese. For this kind of offense, they face penalties, including deportation,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Capt. Saeed bin Salem Al-Juhani, representative of the Directorate General of Anti-Narcotics, urged the Burmese expats to inform the directorate if they know about a drug addict in their community, assuring them that the directorate bears the treatment cost of addicts and the matter is kept a secret.