I wrote to friends in Saudi for clarification in vague stories that are coming out on the chop-chop case. They said there are two separate stories that have been mixed up by wire stories which were picked by by Philippine newspapers. One is about Filipino mine workers who were accused of theft and the other is the chop-chop case.
To help give us a clearer picture, here’s the story of Arab News on the gold theft . I’ll also post Arab News update on chop-chop story.)
Police Say Gold Theft Suspects Still Under Investigation, Not Convicted
Arab News
JEDDAH, 20 April 2006 — Police have confirmed that 19 Filipino mine workers in Madinah province are being detained on charges of stealing gold from their company, but clarified that not one has been convicted yet.
The chief of police in Al-Mahd town, where the mine of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) is located, said there was no truth to an earlier report of a local Arabic newspaper that the suspected thieves were sentenced to 3 years in prison.
“The investigation is still continuing,” the police official was reported by another Arabic daily, the Al-Madina, yesterday.
The report said 19 of the miners signed a confession before a local court that they stole about two tons of gold from the mine in a period of eight months. The news report was accompanied by the pictures of some of the suspects and the top of a mountain where the suspects supposedly hid their loot.
Al-Madina said the suspects were transferred to the Al-Mahd prison after their confession.
The paper said the manager of the mine refused to comment on the case.
Arab News learned that 29 Maaden workers were initially held for investigation for the past three weeks but the rest were eventually freed.
Those still under investigation were those found with gold processing paraphernalia in their quarters, sources said.
In Jeddah, police have confirmed that the body parts that were found scattered in the Industrial Area more than a week ago belonged to three people who had been declared missing, according to another local paper
The report said eight people suspected to have links with the missing persons are under detention. One of the eight confessed to the killings and showed police the location of the bodies, the paper said. Some of the jailed suspects reportedly confessed that gambling was the cause of the killings.
No other details were immediately available. The Philippine Consulate said it has yet to obtain a report from the police.
Consul General Pendosina N. Lomondot had earlier told Filipino community leaders during a meeting that the consulate is doing its best to ensure that the rights of the suspects are respected.
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