The charges also included inciting her purported lovers to burn her father-in-law’s house and four cars, said Badar Al-Rouqi, the lawyer representing the husband.

“Her two accomplices, one a Saudi and other a South Asian expatriate, were handed 20 years jail time,” he pointed out. “The third accomplice, an Arab expatriate, has been given 10 months in jail for illegal seclusion with the woman.”

All the defendants denied the charges and appealed the sentence, the lawyer said.

The husband, identified only as Hani, complained to Makkah police seven years ago after one of his cars went missing.

Police continued investigating the complaint and finally discovered that his wife of 16 years, with whom he has five children, had hired thugs to attack him and his father, and also torch his cars and home.

“My troubles began around seven years ago when my car, which was parked close to my home, went missing. I informed the police and they later told me it had been found and had been torched,” Hani said.

He added that he lost three more cars in the same way. After this, Hani decided to leave Makkah and go to live in Bahra where he had a second home. One of his houses was also burned down during this time.

Some time later, his father was attacked in a street. Some unidentified men threw acid on his father and burned him. Three months later Hani was attacked in the same way and he lost the sight of his left eye.

After 30 months of investigation, police discovered his wife’s involvement in the crime when she was caught in a state of illegal seclusion (khulwa) with an Egyptian man. Police said the woman also had affairs with a Saudi and a Pakistani who carried out some of the crimes.

Police found that a Bangladeshi man had been hired by the Saudi lover to steal and torch Hani’s cars. The Saudi lover, along with Hani’s wife, had also hired a Pakistani man to carry out the acid attacks.