Saudi- Fingerprinting: Hundreds of Lankans turned back

(MENAFN- Arab News)  Hundreds of Sri Lankan expatriates who were asked to appear at the deportation center in Jeddah for biometric recording yesterday, had to return without their fingerprints recorded apparently due to backlog piled up since last week. Monday was the day scheduled for expatriates from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Sudan to record their biometrics, and consequently, hundreds including women descended in the morning on the deportation center. However, after a wait of about five hours, the Sri Lankans were told by the authorities that their fingerprints could not be recorded and that they should come back next week. Scores of Sri Lankan expatriates had already formed queues at the center with hundreds waiting their turn outside the premises. Roshan Mohammed, a Sri Lankan national, told Arab News: "The authorities told me that there was a backlog of candidates who couldn't make it last week. They want to complete their process first before taking up a fresh batch for fingerprinting."