RIYADH: The anti-begging body disclosed in Riyadh on Monday that 373 beggars were arrested by the security committee for begging during the last three months.

Among those held are 254 women, 27 men and 92 children. They were rounded up by the anti-begging office in Riyadh, where a social services cell will seek to rehabilitate them.

The body said that 24 beggars have been transferred to charitable organizations to look after their needs, and 71 to the Human Resources Development Fund to empower them with skills to find jobs. Social security offices have accepted seven cases, while 38 males and females were apprehended by police.

Omar Al-Eid, head of the anti-begging squad, said that his office runs rehabilitation programs. It has been conducting field studies on three families to assess their situation.

They will also be put through programs to educate them on the negative effects of this phenomenon. So far, 48 persons have benefited from these programs, stopped begging and started working.

Last year, the body, in coordination with Riyadh police, arrested 8,757 beggars.

Statistics released by the committee showed that approximately 70 percent of those arrested were non-Saudis.