Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The father of a boy who drowned in a septic tank on Thursday claimed the emergency services' negligence was the reason his son died. Jalal Al-Zabidi told Al-Madinah daily that he notified the police and Civil Defense that his son Ali had fallen into the tank at 3 p.m. but officers only arrived at 6 p.m. He said Ali used to come home from school at noon everyday and was never late. He said: "At 1 p.m. that day my wife called me and told me that Ali did not return from school. “I called my brother and asked him to look for Ali in the neighborhood. My brother talked to some of Ali's friends, who told him that they were playing next to the house and he suddenly disappeared.” Al-Zabidi explained that he left work and headed to his house to look for his son but could only find his school bag next to a building. He notified police and the Civil Defense to search for his son in a large water-filled hole where Ali may have fallen. He pointed out that police and Civil Defense teams arrived at 6 p.m. and drained the hole but could not find his son. “The next day I was informed that my son was found dead in a septic tank after suffering a head injury. “The search team told me the tank had a wooden cover.” He added that he did not suspect any of the neighborhood residents but had suspicions about the caretaker of a nearby building. "The tank is next to the building where the caretaker works and was tightly covered by wood," he said. Ali was the oldest of his children and a second grade student at Hakeem Bin Huzam School. He wanted to be a dentist, said Al-Zabidi. He said a committee should urgently find a solution to the many open septic tanks in the Al-Naseem neighborhood, especially as some unlit streets make it difficult to avoid them. Ali's younger brother said that he is looking for his sibling and is keeping his toys and bicycle for him to play with when he comes back. Omar Al-Ghamdi, a resident in the building where the boy was found, said the septic tank did not have a tight steel cover, only a wooden one, and he was surprised when he learned the child's body was found inside. A Civil Defense source denied there were any delays in officers reaching the site and that their search of the water-filled hole was fruitless. He said: “On Friday the child's body was found in the septic tank and police were notified. “Divers were also called to recover the child's body.” Makkah Police spokesman Lt. Col. Ati Al-Qurashi said an investigation was still under way and that the case would be referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP). Lawyer Murad Al-Sebaih said the child's family has the right to sue the building owner for negligence and ask for blood money as compensation for failing to adequately cover the septic tank.
