RIYADH – An official of the Northern Frontier Health Affairs could not believe it when he found that two powers of attorney were issued in his name by a Jeddah-based notary public in 2010 without his knowledge and physical presence, Muflih Al-Ashjaee, lawyer and legal consultant, told Saudi Gazette. Both powers of attorney stated that Al-Ashjaee's client, a Ministry of Health official, appeared before Faisal Al-Issa, notary public in Jeddah, and appointed Omar Ali Al-Mandili to be representative of the official before notaries public, mayoralties, municipalities and sub-municipalities. They also authorized the fake representative to complete all necessary procedures with respect to the land given to the client as a government grant. The representative was empowered to sell the land and receive money, Al-Ashjaee said. According to the lawyer, the powers of attorney were issued when his client was working in Arar city, Northern Frontier Province. The notary public told Al-Ashjaee that a man holding an ID card with the client's name appeared before him in court with two witnesses and requested the court to issue him two powers of attorney. Al-Ashjaee said both witnesses will face perjury charges and will be punished for giving false statements. Al-Ashjaee asked one of Al-Mandili tribe's elders to mediate and resolve this matter but the latter refused upon which Al-Ashjaee decided to file official complaint with the Qunfudah governor, who referred the complaint to the police station in the town where the suspect lives. However, Al-Ashjaee added, the documents related to the case disappeared mysteriously inside the police station and nobody knows where they are or what happened to the case. “The suspect is a notable figure among his tribe and a big businessman. He sold the land for SR400,000.” Al-Ashjaee requested concerned authorities to step in and bring justice to his client because this case is related to corruption and fraud. He also said that he contacted the National Anti-Corruption Commission but he was told that this case does not fall within the commission's jurisdiction and responsibility. He called for enforcing the Ministry of Interior's circular numbers 1412 and 2283 of 1990 and 1991, which stipulate that strict penalties shall be imposed on anyone who forges official documents because such an act is a form of corruption that should be eradicated from society.
