year-old house driver from Kerala, India, is being made to pay SR63,000 in damages after the family car he was driving got into a multiple-vehicle collision early last year, according to a report issued by the Federation of Kerala Association in Saudi Arabia (FOKASA). If the court finds him responsible for damages in the other two cars, he could be made liable to pay more than SR130,000, said FOKASA in a letter sent to the Community Welfare wing of the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. Abdulaziz Sirajudheen was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer in March 2011 when a Lexus car hit it from behind, forcing his car to hit the back of a Mazda car. He remains in detention at the Malaz Central Jail in Riyadh after the lady he was driving duped him into signing documents which said he was fully responsible for the accident. Sirajudheen came to Saudi Arabia around four years ago under a sponsor who, 10 days upon his arrival, sold him to a manpower supply company. The company—which did not give him an iqama (resident permit), insurance or driving license—was sending him to work for various families as a house driver on a contract basis and for a paltry sum. He raised the issue of his lack of said documents with his original sponsor several times but he was assured he would be taken care of in case anything untoward happens. At the time of the accident, Sirajudheen had been working for a Lebanese family for a year and a half. Upon the advice of Diana, the lady he was driving that day, he left the scene of the accident and left behind the car as well. He went into hiding in Diana's property. However, within five days, she warned him that since he had no proper documents, he could get in big trouble—unless he confessed and took full responsibility for the accident. He would then be cleared of all offenses, she told him. Believing her words, Sirajudheen agreed to do so. She brought him to the traffic police and signed documents admitting full responsibility for the accident. He was then immediately taken into custody by the traffic police. Based on the police report and his signed confession, a court in Riyadh has directed Sirajudheen to pay SR63,000 for the repair of the damaged Lexus. Repair costs for the Trailblazer and the Mazda were estimated to be SR53,000 and SR15,000 respectively, bringing the total to SR131,000. Since the verdicts for the last two cases are yet to be pronounced, the Federation of Kerala Associations in Saudi Arabia (FOKASA) has issued a request to the Embassy of India in the Kingdom to provide Sirajudheen with maximum legal assistance. He also needs for his travel and other documents to be cleared so he may be able to go back to his country and family. Because his remittances have stopped since his detention, his wife Rasheeda, three daughters aged 19, 16 and 10, plus one divorced sister now only live on Rasheeda's meager earnings from domestic jobs.
