The father reportedly collected funds from his friends and relatives to raise the money for his future son-in-law who claimed he was in a bad financial situation. The father said the groom betrayed his trust and ran away from the wedding and he had no option but to take the case to court. He told the newspaper that he paid a heavy price for his blind trust in the groom and said he gave his consent to the proposal made by the young man and his family.

However, after the engagement, the groom started to complain about his financial crisis. “I gave the groom the SR70,000 which I raised. A few days before the wedding, I asked the groom about his house so I could move my daughter’s furniture there but he said that he did not have a home and he would take my daughter to live with him outside the Kingdom,” the father said. He added that when the groom refused to go ahead with the wedding or return the money, he took him to court.

Commenting on the case, head of the Jeddah General Court Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Qani warned fathers not to have confidence in young men who propose to their daughters before getting to know them well. He said that if the groom refused to come to the court after repeated summons, he would be tried in absentia.