9 expats among 16 held in Riyadh over road rage
Kingdom has recently toughened penalties for traffic offences to reduce road crashes
Cairo: Saudi police said they had arrested 16 people, including nine expatriates, involved in public violence in traffic-related incidents in Riyadh as part of a crackdown on law breakers.
In one incident, six Yemenis, a Sudanese national and three Saudi citizens were arrested after they had appeared in a video clip fighting each other due to a traffic accident. After the arrest, they were referred to public prosecution.
Security patrols in the Saudi capital, meanwhile, arrested six more involved in a brawl over a dispute over priority for using the road.
They were two Syrian expatriates and four Saudis, Saudi General Directorate of Public Security said.
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Saudi Arabia has recently toughened penalties for traffic offences to reduce road crashes.
The kingdom’s police have reported arresting several motorists for committing documented violations of road rules.
Earlier this month, Saudi police said they had arrested 19 expatriates for unlawfully organising a motorcade and obstructing traffic on a public road.
The offenders – Syrian nationals – were seen driving their cars in an irregular assembly which they filmed and posted it on social media, a spokesman for the Riyadh police said.
In November, Saudi police said security patrols had arrested a woman in Riyadh after she had appeared in a video disrupting traffic on a public road and violating public morals. The video circulating on social media showed a woman standing next to a car with an open door and dancing to recorded music.
A month earlier, police said they had arrested a woman who had appeared in an online video disrupting traffic on a street in Riyadh. In the footage, the woman is seen shouting as she is strolling amid vehicles on the road while motorists and pedestrians are looking on.
In September, Saudi police said they had arrested two young men for having stopped their car in the middle of a road in Riyadh to take photos.
The offenders — a Saudi and a Yemeni resident — were accused of blocking traffic on a public road with their car, putting other lives at risk and violating public morals.