year-old boy have accused the police of not taking any action to help them when they reported that their son had been kidnapped last Thursday. Tahira Sultana and Khalid Siddique said that their son, Osama Mushtaq, could have been sexually assaulted and killed because the police did not want to do anything to help them. Osama was returned home safely at 6 P.M. after his kidnapper let him go. He was not harmed in any way, said his parents. The family's ordeal started on Thursday at 3.30 P.M. when Osama went to the local store in Azizia District, close to Badr Al-Sama Polyclinic. The shop is only five minutes away, so when he did not return after 25 minutes his mother started to worry. “I was worried and called him on his mobile to ask where he was. But I immediately knew from the sound of his voice that he was in trouble. He was not speaking properly. He first said he was with a friend and would come back at 5 P.M., and then he said he was going to mosque for prayer. I scolded him and asked him again where he was, and then he told me that someone had kidnapped him and taken him in his car,” she explained. The parents immediately rushed to the police station in Azizia District, but were shocked when the police officer told them they could not file the complaint until five hours later – at 9 P.M. “We were shocked when we heard this. I told them that we spoke to our son on the phone and he told us that someone had picked him up in his car. We pleaded with them, but they refused to write a complaint,” said Siddique. “I just don't understand the police. If anything had happened to our son between 4 and 6 P.M., who would have been responsible? What if the kidnapper had taken him to another city or killed him? What kind of law is this, what type of social security? If the police had taken immediate action they could have caught the culprit in the area. Today he kidnaps my son in broad daylight, but tomorrow he could kidnap someone else,” an angry Siddique said. “Osama said that he (the kidnapper) didn't abuse him sexually. So what was on his mind? What was the motive behind kidnapping him,” asked Siddique. Osama told Saudi Gazette that the man who took him was in his early thirties, with huge muscles, and drove a brand-new silver Camry. He asked him directions to a restaurant and then grabbed him and threw him into the car. “The windows of the car were black, so no-one could see inside the car. He put the child lock on so I couldn't get out of the car,” said Osama. “He took me to the back of the Jarir Bookstore and Centrepoint on Tahliya Street in Al-Rehab District, the remote area near Makkah highway. He asked me for the names and addresses of my friends, and for my name. He told me to tell my parents that I am with a friend or praying in the mosque. When my parents started calling me continuously he took my mobile and destroyed my sim card.” Osama said that the man was fair, tall, with black eyes and a small shaved head. This is not the first such incident in the area. About three months ago, another 12-year-old boy was kidnapped when he went out to buy food from Kababish restaurant at 2:30 P.M. The distraught family reported the matter to the police, but the police told them they always waited for three to four hours before conducting a search. The family then reported the matter to a local daily and placed pictures of their son all over the area. Later, they went back to the police and an officer wrote out a complaint and then went to search for the boy. They found the boy and returned him to his family at 1 A.M. The boy's father told Saudi Gazette that if it was not for the police, he believes they would not have their son back. Col. Misfer Al-Ju'aid, spokesman of the Jeddah Police, told Saudi Gazette that if it is known someone has been kidnapped, then the family should call 999 immediately and inform the police. If possible, they should also give the police details of the car, model and plate number. “The police will take immediate action,” he said. He added that if somebody reports a person missing at a police station, then the police will wait a few hours before conducting a search. He said the police will wait because the person may have gone with friends or is stuck somewhere doing work.
