Saudi probes Filipino driver

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday a Filipino truck driver was being investigated for the gas tanker explosion that occurred last week on a highway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DFA Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Raul Hernandez did not identify the driver but Arab News quoted Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin Tago as saying he was Robin Kebeng, who has been working in Riyadh for a year.

Hernandez said Tago went to see Kebeng at the criminal investigation office in Riyadh but was not allowed to see him “for now.”

“Ambassador Tago wanted to find out his condition,” Hernandez said in a phone interview.

“We are prepared to help him with legal representation,” he added.

Hernandez said the Filipino had not been charged but was being investigated for allegedly causing the accident that killed 22 persons and injured more than 100 others.

Eight injured Filipinos have been discharged from the hospital while six others remain confined in four hospitals in the Saudi capital. Christine O. Avendaño