The Civil Defense inspected 63 commercial towers to ensure their conformity with safety and security regulations. Riyadh Civil Defense spokesman Capt. Mohammad Al-Hamadi said 19 of the inspected sites were found to be violating the regulations. Inspectors had to stop construction work on eight towers for endangering workers' lives. The construction sites were not equipped with a fire hose and other mandatory safety procedures and the workers were not wearing protective gear. Also, water was leaking near electric cables and waste was lying around on every floor. All halted construction works will resume once owners of the project implement the necessary safety measures. — By Mishaal Al-Otaibi/Saudi Gazette Amphetamine tablets seized RIYADH — Authorities have seized 150,000 amphetamine tablets. Al-Hudaithah Custom Control Director Ibrahim Al-Enizi said a truck approaching the expressway exit was stopped for inspection and officials found a wooden box containing a large number of amphetamine pills lodged underneath its bottom. The officials also found a plastic bag of amphetamine pills hidden in one of the compartments. — By Mishaal Al-Otaibi/Saudi Gazette 2 suffer from burns in building fire TAIF — Two people including a woman suffered mild burns caused by a fire in a residential building. Taif Civil Defense spokesman Col. Nasser Al-Sharif said the fire started in a room of an apartment on the first floor of a building in Al-Sihaili District. Firemen extinguished the fire and the victims were treated on the spot and are now in good health. The fire was attributed to an electrical error. — Okaz/SG 3 die in road accident RIYADH — Three people died and another was injured in a road accident on Sunday. Riyadh Red Crescent spokesman said the accident happened on Al-Hayir Road near Al-Ghanam Bridge. The vehicle the victims were driving hit a streetlamp which caused it to split in half. The victims were in their 20s and 30s. All victims were taken to the hospital. — Okaz/SG Two gets prison for money laundering RIYADH — A Saudi and an expatriate were sentenced to five years and an year in prison respectively for their involvement in money laundering. The Monetary Affairs Investigative Unit at the Ministry of Interior said a financial institute reported unusual transactions done by an account of a company owned by a Saudi man. The institute was concerned as the sum of money involved in the transactions was too large for the size of the company and its revenue. The investigative unit looked into the reported bank account and suspected the owner may be involved in money laundering. The case was forwarded to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution. The unit reported the investigations revealed that a Saudi man and the expatriate were indeed involved in money laundering. The Saudi man would lease the bank account of his company to the expatriate so he could transfer large sums of money to bank accounts abroad. The expatriate also faces deportation upon completion of his sentence. — Okaz/SG
