JEDDAH, 22 July — A Saudi father of 12 killed his pregnant wife after a row over household expenditures and shot himself in the heart as police tried to arrest him, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
Al-Yaum daily said the incident took place last week in the town of Umm Al-Sahek in the Eastern Province. The man shot his 45-year-old wife, who was in her sixth month of pregnancy, three times in the neck and back as she tried to flee the house following an argument.
When police cordoned off his house to arrest him, the man used three of his children as “human shields” and refused to surrender. After three hours of negotiations, he shot himself in the heart as police raided the house.
The unnamed man, who was married for 25 years, died on his way to hospital, Al-Yaum said.
Residents of Umm Al-Sahek were shocked by the news. The man was a reputable person in the township and was known for caring for his family.
Al-Yaum said the man’s mother had a heart attack after hearing of the incident and was taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, Al-Birr charitable society in the Eastern Province provided emergency aid to the orphaned children.
Woman gets husband freed: A woman in Turba, near Taif, sold a house she owned in Jeddah to get her debt-ridden husband released from jail, Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper reported yesterday.
The paper said the man was arrested when he failed to honor his debts which amounted to more than SR300,000. “The action by the woman helped the man to pay part of his debts and get out of jail,” the paper said.
