Traffic fine for old woman who never drove

When a Saudi journalist applied to hire a foreign housemaid for his ageing mother, he was told by labour officials he must first go to the traffic police and pay a fine issued against his mother six years ago for speeding.

Bandar Al Ammar, a reporter for the Arabic language daily Alwatan in the central province of Hail, was shocked because his mother had never driven a car nor had she been to the western town of Jeddah, where the penalty is recorded.

“I went to the traffic police and told them this….what also astonished me is that women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, so how they enter a traffic penalty against a woman in their computer system,” he said, adding that police promised him to check the issue.

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