Court sources in Yanbu, however, played down the retraction saying there is enough evidence to convict the man.

The sources added that the man has shown police the places where he hid the maids’ bodies and a picture of one of the dead women on his mobile phone.

The man recanted his confessions when brought before a panel of three judges to authenticate them.

The man was arrested after his son, who was caught for begging, told the police during questioning that his father stabbed a woman on a street.

The son told police that his father had been torturing him and forcing him to beg, and that he had seen him kill an Indonesian maid on the street.

Police then arrested the father who admitted the killings and showed officials where he dumped the bodies. The arrest follows a four-year investigation.