Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — A convict is being investigated for managing to convince a woman teacher at Makkah’s Umm Al-Qura university that he could get her Shoura Council membership if she made a SR70,000 charity donation.



The teacher, known by her initials of B.A., was busy delivering a lecture when she received a call from a man who claimed to be a top official.



He told her that she and some other women doctorate holders were under consideration to become members of the Shoura but asked her to keep this to herself.



The woman was delighted with the news, Makkah daily reported on Wednesday. The man called again a few days later and asked her to make a donation of SR70,000 to a charity organization to improve her image and so she appeared to be a philanthropist.



He asked her to put the money in a sealed envelope and deliver it to a certain office in Al-Awali district in Makkah and she agreed.



When the telephone calls stopped and the man disappeared, the woman realized she had been conned and informed the police.



After thorough investigations, the police discovered the con man was a prisoner serving four years in the notorious Al-Hayer prison in Riyadh for similar crimes.



He used to make telephone calls to his victims from his prison cell pretending to be a highly placed official.



He would constantly change his SIM card to avoid detection. Makkah police brought the prisoner from Riyadh and placed him in the custody of Al-Aziziyah police station, where he is currently being questioned.