Labor Ministry threatens to sue Hafiz beneficiaries who provide wrong data

Labor Ministry threatens to sue Hafiz beneficiaries who provide wrong data

The Ministry of Labor has threatened to sue unemployed men and women who provide false data to take advantage of the Hafiz unemployment assistance program.

However, some lawyers believed the ministry had no right to do so, local daily Al-Madinah reported Thursday.

The ministry also stated that it had the right to disregard applications and to reclaim any amount of money paid to beneficiaries if any discrepancies were detected in their data.

Commenting on the issue, legal consultant Dr. Omar Al-Kholi said the condition inserted by the ministry in the application forms was meaningless because rules and regulations only state anyone providing false data that causes harm to another party should be taken to court.

He said the ministry put the condition only to remind applicants of the consequences of providing wrong information.

Adil Al-Salih, another Saudi legal consultant, said the ministry did not stipulate such a condition unless it meant to ask applicants to be truthful and credible. “This condition was not there when the program was first launched,” he recalled.

Al-Salih said taking applicants to special courts for providing wrong information was not legally sound.

“Violators could not be taken to the administrative court on charges of forgery as they were not government employees. The charge of forgery in their case could not be proven as any criminal intent would be difficult to prove,” he said.

The lawyer said young men and women who provide wrong data with the aim of obtaining financial help from the Hafiz program could not be considered criminals as it would contradict the very essence of the program itself. “Therefore, taking them to court is not the appropriate legal action,” he added.

According to local press reports, the names of more than 3,000 dead people were discovered among the applicants for Hafiz financial assistance, which offers SR2,000 monthly. Under the program, the unemployed men and women would obtain the allowance for a whole year.