The Jeddah Summary Court sentenced a public servant Sunday to six months in prison and 150 lashes on charges of “fraud and deception” related to his “immoral exploitation” of a poor woman and her daughters. The details of the official's immoral behavior have not been disclosed. The official will receive an additional 80 lashes for insulting the plaintiff in court. The man, however, said he intends to appeal the verdict because he is “innocent.” The police arrested the man following a report from the 45-year-old woman, to the Al-Jamea' Police Station, accusing him of “exploiting the fact he was a government official to deceive her poor family.” The police at the time referred the case to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution that turned it over to the Summary Court. The woman, who lives with her four children, said she has been suffering financially since her husband died and his family took all their belongings. “He got close to the family promising that he would help us and expedite complicated government procedures, but he deceived us,” the woman said, without disclosing more details of the “immoral exploitation” she had been subjected to. The woman said that after her husband died, her father-in-law kicked her out of her late husband's house. This had resulted in her being unable to benefit from the Ministry of Social Affairs' programs for widows. Another hurdle was getting registered for financial benefits at Social Security. She said she was registered at the Civil Affairs Office as an employee of a kindergarten, but that was 15 years ago. Awad Al-Malki, spokesman for the Social Security in Jeddah, vowed to study the family's case, saying that in order to get the widow's benefit she must change her status at the Civil Affairs Department. Director of Makkah's Civil Affairs Department, Turki Al-Malafikh, said the death certificate of the husband is needed to change the status. The woman said her father-in-law has the death certificate.
