The head of Saudi Arabia’s religious police has slammed mall owners in the kingdom for hiring casual security personnel, it was reported.
The chief of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai’a), Sheikh Dr Abdul Lateef Aal Al-Sheikh, criticised mall owners for using unauthorised staff to prevent harassment of female shoppers by single males, reported local newspaper Saudi Gazette.
Dr Aal Al-Sheikh said that these mall employees do not represent the religious police and have no legal standing in the Kingdom.
If mall owners appoint religious police in order to prevent harassment, then they should wear uniforms and badges to identify them as mall employees, said Aal Al-Sheikh.
Recently, the conservative kingdom has allowed men to enter malls alone. Previously, males who were not accompanied by their families were denied entry.
Local media has reported that Saudi Arabian authorities will detain anyone found guilty of harassing others in shopping malls.
The decision came a month after the Gulf kingdom lifted restrictions on men entering malls on their own.
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