Corpun file 8463 at www.corpun.com
Arab News, Jeddah/Riyadh/Dhahran, 1 December 2001
Woman sentenced to jail, 200 lashes for torturing maid
By Saqr Al-Amry
Arab News Staff
JEDDAH, 1 December - A Shariah court sentenced a Saudi woman to one year in jail and 200 lashes for torturing her Indonesian maid who later strangled herself to death using an electric wire.
A forensic report showed the maid had injuries on the head, chest, neck, face, back, arms, legs and the abdominal area, indicating she had been systematically beaten.
The maid was found dead at her employer's house in Tabuk, 1,300 kilometers northwest of the Saudi capital, with a wire around her neck and tied to the door.
The forensic report indicated the maid committed suicide, but the judge was convinced she was driven to it because of maltreatment by the housewife.
Witnesses told the court they saw serious injuries on the maid's body and that she had told them they were caused by the housewife who sometimes used a hot iron to punish her. The housewife admitted she had prevented the Indonesian maid from leaving the house, but also told the judge that her husband had not been paying her salary regularly.
The woman will be given the lashes in 10 weekly sessions of 20 each. The ruling was upheld by the high court in Makkah.
The Saudi woman, however, refused to admit that the maid committed suicide because of her cruelties. She told the court that the maid had received a letter from her sick son three days before committing suicide.
"She had also requested my husband to pay her salary arrears but he did not pay," the housewife said.
A grocery shop worker, who appeared before the court as witness, said the maid used to come to his store with bruises on her face and wearing worn out clothes.
The worker also told the court that the maid had told him the story of another maid who had worked for the same housewife, who shaved her head completely as a punishment.
A Saudi woman witness told the court that she had seen wounds and burns on the body of the maid when the latter had worked for her temporarily.
"She had requested me to keep her with me" after accusing her original employer of spraying boiled oil and detergents on her face and eyes, the Saudi witness told the court.
[...]
Corpun file 8464 at www.corpun.com
Arab News, Jeddah/Riyadh/Dhahran, 7 December 2001
Parents called in to witness punishment
By a Staff Writer
JEDDAH, 7 December -- The committee responsible for punishing men who harass women here has started to summon the guardians of offenders to witness the punishment meted out to their sons, reported Al-Riyadh newspaper yesterday. Parents have already been present in two cases, in Bataha and Al-Daira districts, where the young men received 30 lashes. This week, a total of 242 youths -- including 23 expats -- were given lashes in various parts of the city.
Corpun file 8421 at www.corpun.com
Press Association, UK, 12 December 2001
Four Britons return after year in Saudi jail
Four Britons have returned to the UK from Saudi Arabia after a year in jail for illegally dealing in alcohol.
The four were sentenced to be flogged, but none of them was beaten.
Their release coincided with a mass pardon by King Fahd as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to a close.
The release of Paul Moss from St Helens in Merseyside, Kelvin Hawkins, from Lancaster, David Mornin, a former fireman from Greenock, and James King, reportedly raises hopes that two other Britons rounded up in a sweep against the forbidden alcohol trade would be freed in time to spend Christmas with their families.
There is less hope for a third Briton who has yet to be charged, reports The Times.
The move was welcomed by the Foreign Office. A spokesman said: "This is obviously good news that these men are home for Christmas and that they did not receive their lashes. But we are still working on the ones that are still there. They are not forgotten."
A further five Britons have been accused of involvement in a spate of bombings, one of which killed a British man. The five men, who have yet to be charged, are expected to go on trial within the next few months and could be publicly beheaded if found guilty.
Corpun file 8465 at www.corpun.com
Arab News, 13 December 2001
Youths jailed for kidnapping girl
By Badr Al-Nayyif
Arab News Staff
MADINAH, 13 December -- Three young men who kidnapped a female student in Madinah have been sent to jail after being caned in public under orders from the governor's office. Police arrested the youths within one hour of the outrage. The youths were caned in front of the school from where the girl was kidnapped.
Corpun file 8467 at www.corpun.com
Arab News, 17 December 2001
Moonshiners deported
By Badr Al-Nayyif
Arab News Staff
JEDDAH, 17 December -- Three Eritreans, who were found guilty of brewing liquor and selling it in the city, have been deported. The three had served jail terms and were caned in public before their deportation. Two of the Eritreans were caught red-handed six months ago in Bani Malik district in Jeddah while bottling the illegal brew in a rented apartment. The third culprit was a woman who was employed to distribute the liquor to clients. The criminals admitted that they earned SR20,000 to SR40,000 a month.
Corpun file 8468 at www.corpun.com
Arab News, 23 December 2001
Quack gets jail term, flogging
By Badr Al-Nayyif
Arab News Staff
MADINAH, 23 December -- A provincial court here has sentenced a quack to one year in jail and 140 lashes. He will be deported after serving the jail term.
The Pakistani national was found guilty of treating patients without a license and supplying medication not registered in the Kingdom.
The man treated patients for abortions, kidney failure, liver cirrhosis and severe stomach pain.
The doctor was arrested following several complaints against him. He claimed his medicine was prepared with imported ingredients and had been tested in laboratories.
According to an informed source, 35 people, including Saudis and expatriates, had lodged complaints against the "doctor", who picked his victims from rural areas. He changed his center of operation and residence frequently to evade detection.
A pregnant woman who was treated by the quack had to undergo emergency surgery to save her life. Some of the woman's friends had taken her to him for treatment for a chronic stomach problem.
A strange concoction administered by the doctor did serious damage to the embryo growing in the woman's womb. Doctors had to remove the fetus to save the woman's life, the source added.
Police forced the man to pay back the fees he had taken from his "patients". One of his victims said he had paid SR10,000 to the doctor.
Corpun file 8469 at www.corpun.com
Arab News, 28 December 2001
142 men flogged for harassing women
By a Staff Writer
RIYADH -- A total of 137 Saudi and five expat young men were flogged for harassing women at various police stations in the city over the Eid Al-Fitr holidays, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported yesterday. The committee in charge of carrying out the flogging penalty also "warned the violators that those who repeat the offense would face imprisonment and (further) flogging." Another 49 youths were flogged in Taif on charges of harassing women over the Eid holidays.
Corpun file 8470 at www.corpun.com
Arab News, 31 December 2001
3-year jail for practicing witchcraft
By Saqr Al-Amri
Arab News Staff
JEDDAH, 31 December -- The summary court in Jeddah has handed down a three-year jail term and 75 lashes in 10 installments to a Saudi woman who allegedly practiced witchcraft. The woman was arrested while receiving SR1,000 from a young woman who sought her magical help in winning the heart of the man she wanted to marry. In fact, the woman was part of a trap laid by the police. They impounded several books on witchcraft found at the woman's home.
