Urabi Al-Harthi said his efforts to take legal action against a company producing contaminated bottled water were in vain – even though a lab analysis showed the bottles contained dangerous water mosses. Al-Harthi said he first noticed the problem after he went shopping and got some water. “When I bought a medium–size bottle of water from one of the groceries in Taif, I discovered that there was something in it that I could see through the transparent bottle,” he said. “I checked the expiry date, but I found that it expires next year.” Determined to remove all the doubts in his mind, Al-Harthi said he went back to the store and bought four cartons of the same bottled water brand, which he checked and found the same contamination. He said first contacted the manufacturing company and its manager investigated his contention and started bargaining with him by offering to refund his money. Al-Harthi said he was determined to learn more so he took the water to a lab and its report showed it was contaminated with dangerous mosses. Having confirmed his suspicions, he lodged several complaints with authorities including the Food and Drug Authority and the Society for Protection of Consumers, but he said they have not responded. Al-Harthi said he also contacted the Jeddah Mayoralty, which told him they had received several complaints about the contamination, but their tests showed the water was fit for human consumption, despite the existence of the mosses. Al-Harthi said he was stunned by the Jeddah Mayoralty's opinion because the reports he had proved the opposite. He stressed that when he had spent SR3,000 on tests, it never came to his mind to make some financial gain from the matter. “What really motivated me in my complaints was a purely ethical purpose and the law gives me all rights to sue those who tamper with the public health,” he said.
