Madina police have refuted claims by Dr. Abdullah Al-Zahrani, Acting Director of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Madina, that a young man arrested by the Commission on charges of khulwa (illegal seclusion with a non-related female) replaced the woman caught with him with his wife in order to avoid punishment. Members of the Commission, Al-Watan reported Wednesday, made the arrest during a routine patrol in Al-Jarf district last Sunday, on the suspicion that the pair were not married, an allegation which transpired to be false as their respective families confirmed that the couple were indeed husband and wife. When a fight erupted between Commission agents and the couple's family, police patrols were summoned and they took all those involved into custody. “There were four patrols, consisting of eight policemen, at the location and a large crowd,” the police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. “Therefore, it is inconceivable that the woman who was in the young man's company was able to escape. Add to this that the woman was being watched by the Commission agents who originally sought to take her to the Commission district office, and that no reports of any attempted escape were filed,” he said. The couple was headed for their home in Al-Aziziyah District following a visit to Uhud Hospital when the incident occurred. A Commission member overtook their vehicle, bumping into it to force the couple to pull over. Another member, described as “extremely young,” went straight to the woman, telling her to board the Commission vehicle on charges of being in the company of an unrelated male. __
