of-date card By Thamer Qumqum ARAR/JEDDAH – A Saudi resident of Arar has had SR277,500 stolen from his bank account in repeated thefts carried out in Jeddah. Bandar Bin Munawir, the victim of the theft, said that he still had his ATM card in his possession and that the sum was stolen from his account using an old bank card which had expired in 2004. Lawyer Abeed Al-Suheimi says only two explanations for the crime exist: that the perpetrator of the theft has considerable experience in banking, or that the old card was renewed with the cooperation of someone at the bank. A sum of over SR100,000 was taken from Munawir's account in separate withdrawals, and purchases of gold, medicine and female beauty products were registered at various outlets in Jeddah. – Okaz/SG Bangladeshi catches pickpocket By Ibrahim Alawi JEDDAH – An Ethiopian pickpocket has confessed to the theft of 32 wallets from bus passengers in Jeddah and numerous identity cards, bank cards, and driving licenses. The serial pickpocket was caught by a vigilant Bangladeshi bus passenger who feigned ignorance of the Ethiopian man's hand in his pocket. When he had conclusive evidence of the pickpocket's intentions he grappled him to the ground and called for the driver to stop the bus and call the police. The Ethiopian man later confessed to numerous thefts on buses and in crowded markets in Jeddah. – Okaz/SG Drunk driver dealing in drink KHAMIS MUSHAYT – The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice caught an alcohol dealer after he was found driving drunk in a vehicle with obscured registration plates. The infraction raised the suspicions of the Commission who stopped him and discovered 158 bottles in his car. Police are conducting investigations to try and discover the man's supplier. – Okaz/SG Mother and child dire in housefire By Al-Hassan Aal Said and Khalid Aal Mureih KHAMIS MUSHAYT – A woman and her four-year-old daughter died from smoke inhalation Thursday morning after a fire broke out in their house in the Al-Sad district of Khamis Mushayt. The father of the family survived. Rescue services extracted the three-member family from the blaze and transferred them to hospitable where the condition of the father improved after receiving First Aid. The mother and daughter, however, failed to recover. Initial investigations reveal the fire was caused by a short circuit. – Okaz/SG Computers stolen from girls' school By Yousef Al-Rasheedi and Fahd Al-Mureikhi AL-NU'EIRIYA – Unidentified persons broke into the building of a girls' school in Al-Nu'eiriya Thursday morning and stole four computers as well as causing damage to several rooms and offices. A police spokesman said that the perpetrators had left fingerprints which would assist investigations and help authorities find out how they managed to break in. – Okaz/SG Police pursue tree thieves By Abdullah Al-Maqati DHULM – Police patrols have been combing the desert lands of Dhulm since Thursday in search of the individuals responsible for cutting down trees over a wide area of the region. Police were informed by a local that a number of people cutting down trees that cattle-owners depend on in the grazing of their flocks.
