AL-NARYIA — Policemen in the Al-Naryia governorate in the southern Asir region were surprised to learn that they had been registered by the General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI) as bus drivers, waiters and workers in other jobs in the Eastern Province city of Hafr Al-Baten. It was discovered that businesses had used copies of their IDs to register them in fake professions to get around Saudization regulations. One of the policemen said: “A friend of mine contacted me by phone and told me some people succeeded in forging the names of policemen working for Al-Naryia police station and registered them on GOSI's pension system.” He said he immediately visited the Ministry of Labor's website and found that he was registered as a restaurant manager in Hafr Al-Baten with a salary of SR1,500. He said he visited the GOSI branch in Hafr Al-Baten to pursue the matter. The officials there confirmed the false registration and told him other policemen in Al-Naryia had also been registered as bus drivers and workers in other jobs. He said he tried to track down the forger in Hafr Al-Baten but did not find the restaurant or its owners. Eventually he found a contact number for the suspected forger and called him. However, the suspect pretended to have no idea about what the policeman was talking about. He said circumstantial evidence indicated there was a ring of forgers involved in this practice. He said he and his colleagues expressed fears that their names and numbers of their IDs would be used for criminal activities and that it was important to track down these forgers. Abdullah Al-Abdul Jabar, GOSI spokesman, said the organization is still receiving complaints from policemen whose names have been registered in private jobs. He said GOSI provided the Ministry of Labor with the names of the individuals and companies involved in this illegal act so they could be prosecuted. He said GOSI is working on an electronic system that will link the organization to all government agencies, allowing it to crack down on such violations.
