The case of a 20-year-old Saudi man accused of stabbing a bouncer at a nightclub in Dubai has set on May 19. The man was allegedly drunk when he had an argument with the bouncer, who had apparently refused to allow him entry because he was too young. The Saudi then allegedly stabbed him in the back with a sharp instrument, according to a report in a local publication recently.

The Dubai Criminal Court has ordered that the man remain in prison until his court appearance.

Emad Adnan Madani, consul general of Saudi Arabia in Dubai, reportedly said that if a citizen is involved in a court case, the consulate is informed immediately.

“As soon as we know that a Saudi has been arrested or detained, we assign a lawyer to defend him. The consulate recently signed a contract with a law firm to deal with such litigation,” he said. Madani said the Saudi Embassy pays the fines incurred by Saudis but this is on condition that the money is paid back when they return to the Kingdom. He said the number of lawsuits involving Saudis published on social networking sites is “exaggerated.”

However, he said that some young Saudi men do not respect the laws and regulations of the countries they visit. “The majority of violations committed by them involve concealing their car number plate (registration),” he said.

Meanwhile, the consulate confirmed that it looks after 85,000 Saudi nationals living in the emirate, including 2,700 male and female students. The figure does not include about 170,000 Saudi tourists who visit annually during school vacations and other holidays. The consulate said it pays fines of up to SR5,000 for Saudis found guilty of various offenses. If the fine is SR100,000, the Saudi government would also pay it, on condition the money is paid back when the person returns to the Kingdom.

More than 250,000 Saudi tourists visited Dubai during the recent nine-day school holidays. There were more than 140,000 Saudi tourists in the emirate during last year’s Eid Al-Adha holidays.