JEDDAH: Thanks to his forgiving employer, a Filipino worker has been released from detention after he was caught with 150 kilos of stolen bronze scrap metal in his baggage at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Dec. 11 last year. In a report sent on Tuesday to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh said the worker, identified only as Vicente, was released from Azizia prison in Riyadh on Jan. 1 after his employer decided not to file any complaint against him and signed the tanazul, or letter of forgiveness. The embassy said the scrap metal was returned to the company. “The OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) may be repatriated, as he was already issued an exit visa by his employer and only has to reconfirm his flight details,” said Roussel Reyes, the embassy's Third Secretary and Vice Consul, adding that they are currently confirming the worker's flight details with Saudi police. Vicente, a native of Haen, Nueva Ecija, worked as a furnace operator for a Riyadh-based molding shop which uses bronze as its primary material.?After finishing his two-year contract, Vicente resigned and was about to take his flight to the Philippines when Riyadh airport authorities arrested him after finding the 150 kilograms of scrap metal in his baggage. Meanwhile, the Filipino international migrant group Migrante once again reminded Filipino workers in the Kingdom to observe local laws, customs and prohibitions by their host government.
