JEDDAH: An official managing a private health-care organization in Jeddah accused seven members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Hai'a, of storming a private party his wife organized for their daughter and her schoolmates at a center for children's parties in in north Jeddah. The girls' mother and other female relatives were at the party, according to the official who asked to remain anonymous. The official, whose wife is a sister of a Saudi diplomat, said people at the party were “surprised at seven people storming the center's hall that was designated for the party and claiming they were members of the Hai'a.” They did not follow proper Hai'a procedures and contended that the venue was unacceptable, he added. “They were not accompanied by women or police, despite the fact that the hall was reserved for women and children only,” he said. “When my wife talked to one of them he replied, ‘This is not a permitted place for a party and why are you wearing make-up and not wearing an abaya?',” the official said. The wife's brother said he approached some officials about the matter on an informal level, adding that his sister's husband will file a formal complaint with the Emir's Office. Sheikh Ali Al-Haiyan, chief of the Hai'a branch in Jeddah, said he had no knowledge of the incident and that he would ask the official on duty that day to check the matter. Hai'a members do not raid sites unless their actions are in accordance with regulations and instructions, said Al-Haiyan, who refused to comment further. The official who related the incident said the men who claimed to be Hai'a members insisted on getting the women out of the hall and dragged two Filipina female workers “in the midst of children crying and screaming.” He said the members were headed by someone called Abu Abdulaziz, who claimed he was from a Hai'a center in Jeddah. “There were only toys, balloons and tables at the party,” he said. “We will file a complaint at the Emir's Office in Makkah to have the incident investigated after we documented it with video camera and photos, and we also have the license plate numbers of the cars used by the men.
