Saudi Arabia: Expat held over filming corpse in Jeddah
He posted video clip harming privacy and violating kingdom’s anti-cyber crime law
Cairo: Saudi police have arrested an expatriate suspected of filming a dead person in violation of the privacy protection law, the second such arrest reported in the kingdom in less than a month.
The Interior Ministry said police in the port city of Jeddah had arrested an Indonesian resident for documenting and posting a video clip harming privacy and violating the kingdom’s anti-cyber crime law.
“Disciplinary procedures were taken against the wanted person who was referred to public prosecution,” the police said in a brief statement.
A video recently circulated on social media showing an expatriate filming the body of a dead person during transferring the corpse into a hearse, Saudi news portal Akhbar24 reported.
Last month, Saudi police said they had arrested in Riyadh a Bangladeshi expatriate accused of having filmed and posted online a video clip showing a shrouded dead person.
The footage displayed a shrouded corpse inside a hospital during arrangements to transfer the body to a morgue ahead of burial.
Huge fine
Taking pictures of others without permission is prohibited in Saudi Arabia. Under Saudi law, the offence is punishable by a fine of up to SR500,000 and imprisonment for a maximum of one year.
In recent months, Saudi authorities have arrested several expatriates involved in different cases of law-breaking and violence.
Last month, Saudi police said they had arrested 11 expatriates over obstructing traffic in Riyadh and documenting the act online. The police said the offenders included 10 Bangladeshis accused of obstructing traffic and causing discomfort to the passers-by.
One more suspect was arrested for capturing the act in a video clip in violation of the kingdom’s anti-cyber crime law.
In June, police said they had arrested 14 expatriates in Riyadh suspected of involvement in stealing copper cables worth over SR8 million. The offenders were identified as 12 resident Pakistanis and two Afghan nationals.
In May, Saudi police said they had arrested a Turkish resident suspected of arson in the holy city of Mecca. The man appeared in a video setting two parked cars on fire in a public place.