Corpun file 17803

Arab News, Jeddah/Riyadh/Dhahran, 4 July 2006

Camel-Herding Drunk Sentenced to 300 Lashes

DAMMAM, 4 July 2006 — An eighty-something Saudi man was arrested while crossing into the Eastern Province from Bahrain carrying several bottles of firewater, the daily Al-Watan reported yesterday.

The old man confessed that he was a serious alcoholic, and that his greatest joy was to herd camels in the desert while drunk. He was sentenced to six months in jail and 300 lashes. According to the report, prisoners said they admired the old man for his open, unapologetic approach to his bootlegging boldness.

Corpun file 17806

Arab News, Jeddah/Riyadh/Dhahran, 7 July 2006

1,000 Lashes for Grifter

A grifter who had been arrested three times earlier for various scams received a more severe punishment the fourth time: Four years in prison and 1,000 lashes, according to a report in Al-Madinah.

The grifter, who had various aliases, preyed on fresh college graduates, all women, by promising them jobs in return for a fee of SR500 for finding jobs.

He would look for fresh women graduates, who often have trouble finding jobs, by posting job notices and promising salaries of around SR5,000. He usually cheated people by telemarketing.

He was sentenced to ten months in prison when arrested for the first time for this crime. After his release, the man again went about cheating women graduates. Eventually he was arrested and sentenced to a year in prison in absentia because he had managed to escape.

A few days later he was arrested for the third time and sentenced to a year in prison. After he served his sentence he came up with new ideas of cheating women graduates. This time he offered to employ women "recruiters".

When the news of the scam spread across Makkah, police were flooded with complaints and they managed to track down the culprit. He was arrested, and this time the court sentenced him to four years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

Corpun file 18002

Arab News, Jeddah/Riyadh/Dhahran, 17 July 2006

Youth Arrested for Assaulting Parents

JIZAN, 17 July 2006 — A court in Beesh in Jizan province sentenced a Saudi youth to four years in jail and 2,000 lashes for assaulting his parents. The youth was arrested following a complaint filed by his father.

The father told the police that his son had beaten up his mother following an argument between the youth's wife and the mother. When the father intervened to save the mother, the son turned on the father and assaulted him as well. The youth will be given 400 lashes at a time, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.