Fake cop robs expat in Saudi Arabia

Balad in downtown Jeddah, which is the hub of retail marketing, has become the haunt of fraudsters who swindle salesmen by impersonating policemen.
In the latest incident, Jeddah police arrested a Saudi who robbed an Asian expatriate of SR100,000 by pretending to be a policeman.
“Balad police received a complaint from an Asian expatriate saying that someone in the guise of a security officer had seized his iqama, and driven him to a deserted place where he robbed him of SR100,000 and three smartphones worth SR6,000,” Jeddah police spokesman Aati Al-Qurashi said in a statement on Friday.
He added that the police embarked on a hunt for the culprit immediately after receiving the complaint and nabbed him within six hours of committing the crime. The culprit is a 20-year-old Saudi citizen and the police are probing the case.
Similar cases in the Balad area have been reported earlier where Saudi citizens and sometimes Yemeni nationals impersonate police and rob expatriates of their possessions. Most of the victims are Bangladeshi or Indian nationals operating small kiosks in the market area. The Riyadh region has also reported similar cases with the police making several arrests in recent months.

Rice-cake selling traffic enforcer gets MMDA's nod

The Metro Manila Development Authority traffic enforcer who was caught on video selling rice cakes to motorists was given a commendation by MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino on Monday, a report on 24 Oras said.

Traffic constable Fernando Gonzales was summoned to the MMDA head office in Makati City after his video became viral over the social media. He was anxious as he stood stiffly straight in the presence of his boss.

Fernando's enterprise was exclusively caught on video by GMA Youscooper "Tonsmags."

"Gawan ng paraan para ma-promote," Tolentino said to Gonzales' relief.

Instead of engaging in corruption while manning Metro Manila's streets, Gonzales admitted selling rice cakes to motorists for extra income.

Gonzales has two children; one in college and another in high school.

"Kasi po minsan kung hihingi sila hindi ko alam kung san kukuha," Gonzales said, his voice cracking with emotion.

Gonzales said he sells rice cakes during his days off but sometimes had to do it in uniform because of sudden calls for extra hands during a shift.

"Napakasipag," his direct superior Jerome Bolivar told reporters.

Gonzales is a graduate of criminology and has been with the MMDA for more than 20 years. —NB, GMA News

Saudi Shura denies women’s driving report

Saturday, Nov 08, 2014

Manama: The spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Shura (Consultative) Council has rejected media reports that members had agreed to allow Saudi women to drive.

“The Council did not make any decision on this issue,” Mohammad Al Muhanna said. “The report disseminated by some media included lots of misleading details that prove that it was baseless and lacked credibility,” he said, quoted by local news site Sabq on Saturday.

An international news agency on Friday reported that the Council recommended that the government lift its ban on female drivers.

Citing a Council member it did not name, the report said the Shura Council made the recommendations in a secret, closed session held in the past month.
Under the recommendations, only women over 30 would be allowed to drive and they would need permission from a male relative — usually a husband or father, but lacking those, a brother or son. They would be allowed to drive from 7am to 8pm from Saturday to Wednesday and noon to 8pm on Thursday and Friday.

The conditions also require that a woman driver wear conservative dress and no make-up, the report said. Within cities, they can drive without a male relative in the car, but outside of cities, a male is required to be present.
According to the report, the council said a female traffic department would have to be created to deal with female drivers if their cars broke down or they encountered other problems, and to issue fines. It recommended the female traffic officers be under the supervision of the “religious agencies.”

However, the report in Sabq said that the international news agency report mentioned conditions under which women could be allowed to drive were exactly the same as those mentioned media claims made in 2008 and that later proved to be rumours that have originated from social media.

The claim that one of the conditions mentioned on Friday refers to restricted driving on Thursday and Friday, the former weekend in Saudi Arabia, indicates that the latest report is a repetition of a report that was published before Saudi Arabia switched its two-day weekend to Friday-Saturday.

Saudi Arabia made the historic change of the weekend on June 29, 2013.

There is no law or legal text that bans Saudi women from driving. Those who are apprehended by the police are briefly held for driving without valid driving licences.

By Habib Toumi Bureau Chief

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