17 April 2009

JEDDAH: Groups of undercover police have been deployed to monitor Jeddah’s markets following a surge in the sale of old Singer sewing machines.

Col. Misfer Al-Juaid, official spokesman for Jeddah police, said there have been reports of people coming to Jeddah from the Kingdom’s northern and central region’s to buy the machines. He added that those selling sewing machines would have their machines seized.

Al-Juaid said people are paying up to SR120,000 per machine following the spread of a rumor over the past three days of the existence of red mercury in a particular brand of old Singer sewing machines.

Al-Juaid said people are buying the machines, whose original price is only SR150, as they think the red mercury can be used to control jinns or will give them long life.

The rumor has led many people to sell their old machines with reports of frenzy at a market in Buraidah. According to one local newspaper, Riyadh’s Bin Qasim Market also saw a surge in people looking to buy Singer sewing machines. Store owners were seen cleaning dust off old second-hand machines and then selling them on for up to SR150,000.

Police find ‘missing’ Makkah schoolgirl on same day

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a high school girl who was reported kidnapped Tuesday after failing to arrive at school was found later that day, said Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Mayman, spokesman for Makkah police. “Police officers began searching for the girl after the girl’s father reported her missing at Al-Ma’abda Police Station,” said Al-Mayman.

“The school notified the father that his daughter was absent from school,” he added. Al-Mayman did not disclose where the girl was found or whether police officers discovered her.

Police sources, meanwhile, said the girl was found accompanied by another girl. They also ruled out that she had been kidnapped. Officers were quick to mobilize search teams, as the city recently witnessed the discovery of the body of a female lecturer at Umm Al-Qura University who went missing after leaving work.

Huwaida Khoja, educational supervisor in Makkah, said schools have a policy of reporting absences to parents. “School principals note absences and are tasked with contacting parents to find out why their children are not in school,” she said. “The main problem that we face is that some students, who intend to be absent and do not want their families to know, unplug their home telephones. Others simply fail to update their contact details,” she added.