A conflict of interests at Riyadh’s Forensic Department is interfering in the public’s interests, as the former supervisor refuses to step down from his position.

After the Director of Health Affairs in Riyadh appointed Dr. Khaled Jaber as the supervisor of the city’s Forensic Department, sources claim that his predecessor, Dr. Abdullah Al-Dossari, is refusing to leave his post or hand over any necessary information to Dr. Jaber.

According to Jaber, officials at the Center have failed to hand over the duties to him, directly contradicting a directive of the Deputy Minister of Health Services Dr. Tarif Al-Aama Al-Qadi. Dr. Jaber called on the minister of health or his deputy, to interfere immediately in a matter that he described as disruptive to public interests.

Meanwhile, Al-Dossari said he is not clinging on to the position, but asked for a committee to be formed in order to oversee the transfer process, as Dr. Jaber is not familiar with the work and the employees do not know him.

Dr. Jaber described his experience on his first day of work at the center as “poor”, with Dr. Al-Dosari posing great resistance to comply with the decision of Riyadh’s Health Department.

Sources at the center described the situation as an “administrative chaos.”

According to the previous supervisor, he has refused to comply with the decision because he is not convinced about the reasons behind it, noting that any transition of power among executives should be in the presence of a special committee.

When asked if Jaber carried out his duties, he initially said he did not, but later corrected his statement to say he only attended during the first day and did not return to his position. He confirmed that tension was present between both sides, and described Jaber as a stranger who does not know the staff at the center because he spent most of his career outside the Kingdom.

Al-Dossari said he issued an “internal” decision authorizing Dr. Mashour Al-Woqdani to serve as supervisor of the Medical Examiner’s office alongside his role as Medical Director.

According to Dr. Jaber, during the first day of his assignment, Al-Dossari and others refused to cooperate with him and hand over responsibilities or deal with him in a professional way.

“They advised me to leave the center, but meanwhile, the proble remains unresolved 88 days after the decision was made,” said Jaber.

“Everything I said was reported in front of an investigation committee formed by the Ministry of Health, which recommended that the center be handed over to me, but this did not happen yet and this has caused an administrative vacancy,” he added. “Al-Dossari has no authority to supervise the center as he is considered a medical director only,” he claimed.