“The 25-year-old woman, named Wafa, was exposed to acid while she was using it to remove the block in the wash-basin pipe in the kitchen at her husband’s house,” said Capt. Abdullah Al-Qarni, spokesman of Jazan police. He said the Saudi man, who was arrested in the town of Samta, Jazan province, for allegedly throwing acid at Wafa, was released for want of evidence.
“We are investigating all aspects of the case,” Al-Qarni told the Arabic language daily Al-Watan.
Wafa approached the police last year with a request to refer her to Sabya Hospital for treatment for acid-burn injuries, the spokesman said. She testified that the accident occurred while she was working at the kitchen of her husband’s house and that no one else was injured in the accident. But later she lodged a complaint with police alleging that she was a victim of an acid attack by her husband.
Earlier reports claimed the Saudi attacked his wife during a domestic dispute. Wafa claimed that her husband has been torturing her for several years and even threatened to attack her again after she had undergone treatment following the alleged attack. Wafa called on the authorities to punish him.
Adel Bahashwan, a prominent local businessman, offered to bear the cost of Wafa's treatment at a specialized hospital.
“Such inhumane treatment is totally alien to the religion of Islam. It is not at all permissible for any individual to attack his wife in such a manner. He should either treat her gently or divorce her in the event of a lack of reconciliation,” he said.
In another development, Wafa's brother Khaled claims that not only did his brother-in-law attack his sister with acid, but he also destroyed documents proving that Wafa was in Saudi Arabia legally.
“Perhaps this is part of his tricks to blackmail her,” he said.
Wafa’s younger brother had also alleged that the man tried to attack him with a knife when he tried to stop him attacking his sister.
“One day Wafa came to our home in a state of utter despair and bewilderment," he said. "There were marks of torture on her body. After a short while, her husband also came and started shouting at her. In the midst of lambasting her, he tried to beat her and drag her away. When I tried to stop him, he pushed me forcefully and took out a knife that was concealed in his pocket. He even tried to stab me with the knife. I escaped with light wounds on my stomach,” he said, adding that the man also threatened to set their home on fire.
