Three children, two boys and a girl, were abandoned by their father in a public park in Sabya, about 30 km from Jazan. The distraught and exhausted children quickly attracted the attention of the visitors who gathered around them to console them.

On receiving a report about the three siblings, Sabya police dispatched a patrol team to the site.

Witnesses said that while they were picnicking with their families in the park they heard voices of children crying. On a closer look, they found the young children by themselves having been left there by their father.

Fawaz Khawaji, an eyewitness, said he thought that people were gathering around a traffic accident. “But when I came near, I found three children sitting on the ground overcome with fatigue,” he said. “After a while, two security patrols came and officers talked with the older boy who gave them their father’s name and his location.”

The security members contacted the children’s uncle who said that this is not the first time his brother had left his children to fend for themselves.

An official at Sabya police station said the authorities were investigating the case.
Ahmad Yahya of the Human Rights Commission’s branch in Jazan said his commission was still not fully aware of the reasons for the children being abandoned.

“Whatever the reaso, there is no excuse for a father to leave his children who he must provide for and protect,” he said.

He said the commission will deal with the issue according to Islamic laws.