The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) has ordered a full-scale investigation into a Jeddah orphanage where the death of an orphan in his room was not discovered for three days.

A team from the Nazaha found that the institution's administration did not monitor the work of supervisors, who have to care for the orphans between the ages of 18 and 30.

The Nazaha found that the orphanage in Jeddah’s Bawadi district had no fire alarms, surveillance cameras, first aid room, dining halls and offices for the supervisors. The Ministry of Social Affairs rents the building for the orphans. The orphanage is a subsidiary of a local charity that has been in the news lately because of the conditions at the shelter.

In a statement, the Nazaha said that there was no entertainment for the inmates and no visible attempt made by the administrators to develop such programs and social activities.

The facility was poorly maintained, the bedrooms and bathrooms unhygienic, the furniture old and worn out, the electricity connections damaged by repeated power outages, and dirty kitchen and storage space, with insects crawling all over the place.

The statement said that the worker who prepared the meals did not have a health certificate. The orphans faced other hardships including having to hire taxis to go to school.

The Nazaha is responsible for investigating financial and administrative corruption at government ministries and agencies.