JEDDAH: The Riyadh Criminal Court has ordered a government undersecretary to pay an 88-year-old citizen SR100,000 in compensation for assaulting him.

The elderly citizen had claimed that the official slapped him in the face, and then kicked him out of his office a month ago, a local publication reported on Thursday. The citizen had gone to the ministry to collect dues owed to him.

The official had denied the allegations, but the citizen had then asked him to swear to this under oath. When the judge ordered the official to be present, a top official at the ministry intervened and sought to reconcile the two men.

The official then agreed to pay the money without going through the court process.