The suspect is in police custody, according to Riyadh police, who confirmed the murder on Monday.

According to the police, the housemaid had been working in a house for the relatives of the suspect.

The police said the occupants had complained to the suspect that the maid was not doing her daily chores properly since she was insisting on being sent home.

Promising his relatives that he would talk to the housemaid, the suspect had allegedly taken her for a drive, police said.

While traveling in the car, the maid is believed to have told the suspect that she had become pregnant.

The suspect then allegedly took the maid in his car to a nearby desert and strangled her. "To conceal evidence of the murder, the suspect had unsuccessfully tried to burn the body," the police said.

Investigators found the partly burned remains in the desert. The police made the arrest following investigations.

Diplomatic sources said that the victim was a maid from India and she was four months pregnant at the time of the murder. They also claimed the suspect was Saudi.

According to information received from Dawadmi by a foreign mission in Riyadh, the youth is alleged to have taken the maid to a travel agency to buy a ticket to send her home, but she refused to travel since she was pregnant.

However, sources from the mission said this information is yet to be confirmed.

The suspect will appear in court as soon as police complete their investigations.

Housemaids working in the Kingdom mainly come from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal, Philippines, India and Bangladesh.