A boy reported missing by his father in Saudi Arabia was in fact 'mortgaged' off to a family friend in another city because the father needed money to repay his debts, a Saudi newspaper reported on Sunday.
The father reported his missing son in the Tabouk governorate setting off an intensive three day police search that turned up nothing, according to the Saudi daily Okaz. The police reportedly grew suspicious after the father did not follow up with them after he filed the report.
Upon questioning his wife said that the boy disappeared after a friend of her husband's from Jeddah came for a visit. "He remained as a guest at our house for two days before he left back home," she told the police.
The police investigation eventually showed that the father had 'mortgaged' his son to his friend in return for SR20,000 ($5,300), which he needed to repay debts that had come due. "Investigation and questioning showed that the father lied about his son. He had given his son to his friend at the airport in return for the money," Maj. Gen. Obeid al-Daarmy, Tabouk police chief, was quoted by the Saudi daily.
There was no information about whether the father or his friend would be charged with a crime. |