ASIR, 9 September 2006 — Firefighters responded to a house fire in this southern city and rescued an 80-year-old man and his son, the Okaz daily reported yesterday. The investigation revealed the cause of the fire: The old man had fallen asleep with a lit cigarette. The old man admitted to the cause of the fire, but refused to blame the cancer sticks, saying it is one of the few things that brings him real pleasure. He even went into denial mode about the health dangers of smoking. The man flatly refused to admit he had any problem. But it’s hard not to appear to have some kind of smoking problem if you’re falling asleep with a lit cigarette in your hand.
Polygamy Threat Leads Wife to Burn Husband
QASSIM, 9 September 2006 — File this one under “Things That Can Go Wrong When You Insist on Polygamy Despite Your Wife’s Objections.” An Arab expat in this central city ended up in the burn ward of a local hospital after he told his wife he was going to marry another woman whether she liked it or not. Big mistake. After having an argument, the man went to sleep and his wife went to the kitchen and heated up a teapot. When the water was at quick boil, she donned an oven mitt, picked up the teapot, went to the bedroom, and poured the scalding water onto her husband’s private parts. The man received first-degree burns. He later told authorities that he didn’t want to press charges against his wife. Instead, he said he wanted to wait until she and his appendage had time to cool down.
