JEDDAH: The Administrative Court in Jeddah has fined a fireworks dealer SR20,000 and jailed him for six months.

The 17-year-old citizen had been selling fireworks in a neighborhood in the south of Jeddah, a local publication reported. He was found in possession of more than 100,000 different types of fireworks that he sold to merchants in the Balad historic area.

He said he had taken up trading in the illegal business because he needed money for his children’s school fees and other expenses.

He made about SR4,000 a month from selling the banned products, a local publication reported recently.

The case was referred to the grievances department at the Administrative Court. The young man had initially said that he had confessed to the crime under duress. He claimed that other merchants had thrown fireworks near to him when police officers approached him.

The court took into account that he was not familiar with Article 21 of the anti-explosives and firecracker laws.