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JEDDAH – Police here have charged a 40-year-old Nigerian woman with attempted theft. The woman was caught breaking the lock of a malls warehouse in the crowded Al-Sharfiyah District Saturday. A security guard called the police after spotting the woman trying to break the lock with a steel cutter. – Okaz/SG

ARAR – Graduates of the Ministry of Healths diploma program in its Health College were surprised to be excluded from technical vacancies restricted to bachelors-degree graduates of universities recognized by the Kingdom.

Dr. Khaled Marghalani, Ministry of Health spokesman, who was telephoned several times to address the issue, did not return calls.

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JEDDAH – The headmistress of an intermediate school in Jeddah provoked the ire of parents on Wednesday by keeping pupils in school, switching off air-conditioners and telling girls to bring their own water next week to punish them for a playground water-fight after the end of an examination.

Al-Madina Arabic daily reported Thursday that, with temperatures hitting 50 degrees centigrade, the principal refused to allow schoolgirls to leave the premises, making them clean the playground and ordering supervisors to switch off air-conditioners and bathroom taps while around 100 parents were left waiting outside for over an hour.

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NAJRAN -King Khaled Hospital here was the scene of a non-fatal shooting on Sunday when a family argument led to one Saudi man being shot twice and another being hit by a stray bullet. According to a security guard at the hospital, the gunman was visiting a patient when a fist-fight started and several persons received minor injuries trying to break up the confrontation. Police were called and as they were about to accompany one of the aggressors away he produced a pistol and fired three shots, injuring his target in the thigh and hitting another visitor to the hospital in the foot with a stray bullet. The injured were reported as in stable condition in the hospital, while police said the gunman was taken into custody without offering any further resistance. – Okaz/SG

MAKKAH – Eighteen years ago Saad Al-Qahtani was making a living any which way he could traveling between Jeddah and Makkah. Then one day his car broke down, and he hasnt moved from the spot since.

Originally from Khamis Mushayt, 61-year-old Saad moved to the Makkah region with his parents and two sisters when he was 17, and they lived in various places until they eventually settled in a house on the outskirts of Jeddah. When his sisters passed away, however, followed by his parents 29 years ago, he found work as a security guard, but after six years was left unemployed.

“They sacked me after I lost my right eye from an illness Id had since I was 12,” he said. “So I decided to buy some cattle, but some got lost and others were stolen.”

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MAKKAH – The security guard of a hotel in Makkah has confessed to the theft of SR140,000 from a pilgrim. The man was taken into custody after the theft was reported on Monday and told officials that he had taken the money and left it with a relative. The money was returned to its owner while the relative of the accused denied any knowledge of the origin of the cash. – Okaz/SG

AHD RUFAIDAH – A group of professional thieves broke into Buraidh Bin Al-Haseem Elementray School here and stole stationery and educational aids. Security sources said the thieves sneaked into the schools store through the back gate. Oddly, there was no security guard present on the school premises. The police are still combing the area to gather vital clues regarding the theft. – Okaz/SG

ONAIZA – Qassim police are investigating a report alleging that the Health Affairs director here on Thursday assaulted a security guard who allegedly prevented the directors brother from entering the residential compound of King Saud Hospital where the director resides.

A medical report from the hospital shows that the guard suffered “bruises and marks of physical assault”.

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JEDDAH – A security guard at an istiraha (rest house) was arrested Sunday for running an alcohol production operation from his place of work. A woman with whom he was living illegally was also detained. Police obtained information concerning the distribution of alcohol in the region and undercover work closed in on the rest house as the source of the illicit beverage. Officers tailed the guard and observed his movements until enough information was gathered to warrant a raid, during which barrels of alcohol and distilling equipment were found in the bathroom. Police also discovered that the guard was living illegally with an Indonesian woman who reportedly helped in his business and took a share of the profits. – Okaz/SG

JEDDAH – The sad plight of a Saudi family of 11 living in a tent in the city has seen an outpouring of contributions from the public, including an apartment and a car.

The Jeddah Charitable Depot Tuesday morning moved the family temporarily to a furnished apartment until donors can provide a permanent house for them.

The Bab Rizq Jameel charity provided a car for the man, Ali Al-Shehri, to use so that he could find work and provide a steady income for his family.

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