RIYADH, Oct 20(Arab News): A Saudi scholarship student who was attacked and robbed in Australia in mid-Ramadan has expressed dismay at the Saudi Embassy’s decision to take him off the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program.

Muhammad Al-Sahli, a student at Melbourne’s Deakin University, has accused embassy staff of backtracking from an earlier promise of facilitating his return home.

“While I was waiting for a promised plane ticket to Saudi Arabia, I was shocked to receive an e-mail stating that I am no longer entitled to scholarship benefits and that they have stopped spending money on me,” Al-Sahli told Al-Riyadh newspaper.

Three men, one Australian and two New Zealanders, attacked Al-Sahli while he was on his way to a railway station in Melbourne to catch a train to visit a student from the UAE. “My plan was to rent out a residential apartment used by the UAE national and transfer the documents into my name. The three men stopped me at a location near the railway station and asked for a cigarette. I told them I don’t smoke,” he said.

“The men, who were seemingly under the influence of alcohol, then assaulted me and robbed my wallet containing money and valuable documents, including my passport. They also snatched my mobile phone,” he said, adding that police then came and an ambulance took him to a nearby hospital.

“I had sustained multiple head injuries, especially on the eyes and nose, and was asked to undergo nasal surgery at a later date after an appointment with the concerned surgeon,” he said.

Al-Sahli said he contacted the embassy immediately after leaving hospital and explained to them what had happened. “I had sent all the documents sought by the embassy staff to follow up on the case with the police. I completed all procedures in accordance with directives from the embassy staff. They then sent an embassy official, Matshar Al-Anzi, to do whatever was needed in my case. Matshar accompanied me to the police station to find out how the investigation was progressing,” he said.

Al-Sahli alleged that the embassy staff did nothing to support him after knowing that he had lost his money and ID. “When I explained to the official my pathetic condition, his reply was that the embassy employees were not in a position to give him any help. He asked me to speak to the ambassador who he said might be able to help me,” Al-Sahli said, adding that he is now staying in a hotel paid for by a philanthropist.

“At the end of Ramadan, I sat exams without doing enough preparations. Even at that time, I contacted the embassy but they did not stand by me to support me and ease my difficulties,” Al-Sahli said.

“After newspaper reports appeared about my pathetic condition an embassy official contacted me and promised a plane ticket whenever I wanted to go back to the Kingdom. After completing all procedures from the university to go on vacation, I contacted the concerned official and got assurances from him that the ticket would be ready within a short period of time. However, after five days, I received an e-mail saying I would be deprived of all benefits of the scholarship program,” he added.