Trade in runaway maids is human trafficking

RIYADH: Trading in runaway domestic workers amounts to human trafficking and those found aiding or abetting it will face a prison term up to 15 years or fine up to SR1 million or both, a senior official of the Ministry of Labor warned Sunday.
The ministry and the Public Security will prosecute those dealing in human trafficking as it is a clear violation of the residency rules of the Kingdom, said Mohammad Al-Falih, assistant undersecretary for inspection at the ministry.
“Those using the social media for such purpose are being monitored, and the names of the violators will be submitted to the judiciary for appropriate action,” he was quoted as saying by local media.
According to him, the number of runaways domestic workers was 50,521 and those absconding was 41,110 in 2014. Among them were 1,730 drivers and 2,353 maids, who were involved in various types of crimes.
“Certainly, we are targeting and monitoring the media advertisements and social communication networks for trading in runaways,” he said, adding, “We spotted during the last period a number of such announcements.”
Al-Falih said that after a thorough study, they found that such practice is considered human trafficking. The data has been forwarded to the anti-trafficking department at the ministry, from where it will go to the public security in order to complete the process of arrest warrant.
“The ministry came across 68 cases during the past two months. They have been studied by the anti-trafficking department of the ministry and their names have been referred to the public security for action,” he added.