5 Saudis nabbed over illegal bonfires

Cairo: Saudi environment police arrested five citizens for having torched bonfires in non-designated sites and failing to observe precautions, a security official said.

The offenders were arrested in the regions of Assir and Tabuk in southern and northern Saudi Arabia.

“Setting off fires in non-designated places is punishable by a fine of up to SR3,000,” Major Raed Al Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi Special Forces for Environmental Security said

In 2019, Saudi authorities announced a ban on bonfires in gardens and other public places for safety reasons and vowed to fine offenders.

The practice of setting off fires for cooking in public areas is common in Saudi Arabia as part of outings.

The fines against the act in non-designated public sites are part of regulations for public conduct that went into effect in the kingdom in September 2019..

Officially dubbed the Public Decorum Code, the regulations ban wearing “inappropriate” attire and acting immorally in public and playing loud music in residential areas. Offenders face fines ranging from 50 to 3,000 riyals, depending on the type of the infringement.