A Saudi man on holiday in Switzerland thought he was doing a good deed when he killed a loose snake in a park. But instead of getting a round of applause, he got jail time.

 

"/> A Saudi man on holiday in Switzerland thought he was doing a good deed when he killed a loose snake in a park. But instead of getting a round of applause, he got jail time.

 

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CRIME

Saudi man kills snake, thrown in jail

A Saudi man on holiday in Switzerland thought he was doing a good deed when he killed a loose snake in a park. But instead of getting a round of applause, he got jail time.

 

Published: 3 August 2011 14:58 CEST

According to a report in the Arabic language daily Sharq, the Saudi man had been on a visit to the park with other tourists when he saw the snake on the ground. He then grabbed a rock and crushed the reptile’s head.

But afterwards, bystanders called police who arrested him and charged him with killing a rare snake.

Police told him he should have called an animal welfare group instead of just killing the animal. The newspaper did not say where the incident occurred or if the man was still in custody.

Switzerland has some of the toughest animal welfare laws in the world on its books.

A 2008 law made it illegal for social animals, like pigs, goldfish, horses and other social animals to be kept alone. Cows must have regular exercise outside in summer and winter, and courses on animal welfare are obligatory – dog owners must learn about pet care and anglers about compassion.

But last year, Swiss voters did vote down a proposal to introduce a system of state-funded lawyers to represent animals in courts.

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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
Updated: 2 May 2024 15:04 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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