The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have foiled an attempt by four youths to kidnap a girl in Makkah. The gang, of whom the Hai'a has detained two members, attempted to grab a girl in the Al-Uteibi market area after repeated efforts to convince her to get into their car. The four drove at walking pace alongside the girl and reportedly showered her with lewd remarks, but when they were met with a firm refusal the driver got out of the car and grabbed the girl, lifting her off the ground, and tried to force her into the vehicle. At that point the gang spotted a Hai'a patrol nearby and released the girl before attempting to flee the area. The crowds in the marketplace were such, however, that the Hai'a managed to detain two of the gang. The Makkah head of the Hai'a, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Du'eilij blamed the guardians of the girl for letting her go alone in the marketplace area. “Girls are open to insult and kidnapping and such as happened to this girl,” Al-Du'eilij said. “These youths committed a grave crime by intruding on a woman's sanctity.” He added that a greater police presence in crowded shopping areas would serve to prevent immoral and other forms of crime.
