The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a) has denied what it called “falsehoods” in the details of press reports earlier in the week of an ambulance being stopped by Hai'a officials in Omluj, Al-Madina newspaper said Thursday. “The ambulance driver and two female nurses were in breach of Shariah and issued regulations,” the spokesman for the Hai'a in Tabuk, Muhammad Al-Zubaidi, told Al-Madina. “They were dealt with in accordance with regulations.” According to Al-Zubaidi, the ambulance was not “pursued” and its path not “blocked” as had been reported, and neither were the driver and nurses forced to descend from the vehicle and questioned for an hour and a half with members of the public gathering round. “The Hai'a was informed by staff in Al-Wajh that an ambulance had been observed by the sea where two nurses and a driver were seen taking photographs, and when a Hai'a patrol was sent out in response it found the ambulance parked next to a coffee shop,” Al-Zubaidi said. “The three were advised that their behavior was in breach of a royal decree dating back to 2001, as was the seating of the two nurses in the front seat of the vehicle.” Al-Zubaidi added that the Hai'a's “performance of its duties” lasted only “a matter of minutes”. “There was no public crowd gathered around them, contrary to media reports,” he said. “No written report was filed at the time of the handling of the violation, out of appreciation for the honorable humanitarian work they do.” Saudi Gazette had reported on Tuesday one eyewitness as saying that the Hai'a “chased the ambulance and forced it to stop”. “People gathered round as the driver and two nurses were made to get out and answer questions for more than an hour and a half before they were allowed to go on their way,” the eyewitness said. The report also quoted spokesman Al-Zubaidi as saying that the ambulance was stopped at a petrol station in the Omluj region. “Advice was provided and the driver was asked to seat the nurses in the rear of the vehicle. After that, the incident was over and the ambulance continued on its way,” he said.
