RIYADH: An expatriate has been arrested for allegedly humiliating and abusing a police officer at a checkpoint and posting the video of the incident on social media.

According to Riyadh police spokesman Captain Fawaz Al-Maiman, the expatriate’s action was to discredit the security services.

“The suspect will be produced in court for disrespecting the local regulations and creating mischief through social media,” he said.

Checkpoints are common in Saudi Arabia. They are set up for various reasons such as traffic safety and security.

Special checkpoints are established during the Haj season as part of crowd control and confirming if those undertaking the pilgrimage have Haj permits or are illegally planning the pilgrimage.

Last year, the highway security started deploying women officers on the Kingdom’s roads to check the identity documents of female passengers, in a bid to apprehend terrorists and criminals disguised as females.

“We’ll stop and inspect suspicious vehicles carrying female passengers. If they do not allow male officers to inspect the vehicle, we’ll call women officers to do so,” a police officer said.

“Apart from ensuring the safety of highway traffic, we are authorized to catch criminals or terrorists who sometimes wear female clothes to hide and mislead security officers,” he said.