Manama: A man who took out his mobile phone to film an expatriate who had fallen off a flyover instead of helping him has been arrested by the Saudi security authorities.
A spokesperson for the police in Qasim, northwest of the capital Riyadh, said they were able to identify the man who took the video and lated posted it on a social network. The man was arrested and referred to the public prosecutor, he added.
The victim was identified as an Arab expatriate in his 30s living in Saudi Arabia.
In the 44-second video, the man who filmed it is heard asking the fall victim how he was doing and then telling him to be patient, promising to drive him to hospital as soon as he finished taking the footage.
The video that went viral on the Internet last week sparked outrage among online users who called for legal action against the man who took it.
Users said that the video was an abuse of the victim’s dignity and an assault on his privacy, accusing the man who took it of failing to show the compassion and care required in such situations.
However, some users sided with the Saudi, saying he was right in “documenting” the incident before providing any kind of assistance.
They argued that the footage would help him refute any charge of lies or deception that could be used against him.
However, the users did not explain the reason the man posted the video online.
