Al-Khobar Municipality cracks down on expatriate street vendors

Agencies
September 10, 2017

Al-Khobar, Sep 10: Municipal inspectors here have imposed a total of SR180,000 in fines on expatriate workers who sold miscellaneous items on streets and confiscated 24,000 vegetable and fruit boxes, a large amount of clothes and foodstuffs, Al-Yaum daily reported.

Al-Khobar Municipal Office head Sultan Al-Zayedi said all expatriate workers who had been fined turned out to have legal residence status and they worked for the private sector. He pointed out that it was illegal for expatriate workers to sell items on streets and the municipality did not grant them licenses to engage in such activities.

Municipal regulations stipulate that heavy fines should be imposed on violators, he said, stressing that inspectors will crack down rigorously on violators.

“We are going to pay surprise inspection visits all over Al-Khobar and crack down on this practice,” Al-Zayedi said.

Most of the workers sell items at Al-Subaikha neighborhood where many expatriate workers work and live.

Eastern Province Municipality spokesman Muhammad Al-Sofian said the confiscated fruit and vegetables were sent to charitable foundations while the inedible ones were destroyed. Some fruit and vegetables rot quickly due to sun exposure.

The campaign came in response to complaints filed by citizens who noticed an increasing number of expatriate workers selling miscellaneous stuff on streets including fried fish, clothes, contact lenses, hearing aid devices, etc.

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