Crime has fallen by a staggering 40 percent in the Eastern Province since the start of Ramadan, according to a police official.
“The criminal cases observed in the first half of Ramadan fell by 40 percent compared to the previous month of Shaaban,” spokesman of the Eastern Police Lt. Col. Ziad Al-Raquaiti said in a statement.
Al-Raquaiti said physical attacks including quarrels and threats fell by 38 percent. He said this could be attributed to the spiritual mood prevalent in the country in Ramadan.
A similar drop in crime rates was also recorded in 2011 and 2012, he said. Police records show that crime in Ramadan fell by 37 percent compared to Shabaan in 2012. Physical attacks fell 26 percent, immorality incidents by 11 percent, liquor-related crimes by 10 percent and various other crimes by 16 percent.
The records also show that there was a 25 percent drop in crimes for the same period in 2011. Physical attacks fell by 32 percent, immorality crimes by 29 percent, drunkenness by 12 percent and various other crimes by 15 percent, the spokesman said.
Crimes currently being committed this month include beggary, mostly by undocumented foreigners. Al-Raquaiti said 62 beggars including 43 foreigners were arrested in the first half of Ramadan, including 37 women, 17 children and eight men.
Another major crime reported during the first week of Ramadan in the province was of a Saudi passport official attacked by a Gulf traveler while on duty at the Al-Ruqaei border crossing on the Saudi-Kuwait border.
The assailant was a Kuwaiti, who attacked the passport officer when he was asked to remove a plastic sticker on his wife’s identity document so that the officer could verify the identity of the woman.
The Kuwaiti passenger refused to comply with the demand and said that a woman officer should check his wife’s identity. In the dispute that followed, the Gulf man took out a knife and stabbed the officer in the thighs. The officer was rushed to hospital. The foreigner was arrested, Al-Raquaiti said.
He said the investigations showed that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding between the official and the passenger.
EP crime falls 40% in Ramadan
