The Riyadh general court sentenced a Saudi man to a 10-year jail sentence with an imposition of 1,000 lashes for robbing a taxi driver at knife-point and stealing money at a gas station in the capital on two separate occasions. The police arrested the criminal in Dirab, 30 km from the city center, following a complaint made by the taxi driver who said that the convict robbed him while he was transporting him to the Fawaz district from Dirab.

According to the Asian taxi driver, the criminal, who hired him to go to the Fawaz district asked him to stop the car on a lonely stretch of the road, snatched his mobile and his day’s collection of cash and sped off in the same car after kicking him out of the vehicle.

The driver said that passing pedestrians helped him reach the nearest police station, where he issued an official complaint with authorities.

Subsequently, another Asian expatriate had complained to the police authorities that the same suspect had come to the gas station and filled up his Datsun Sunny sedan had fled without paying the gas bill. According to the pump attendant, the incident took place at midnight.

Based on the details given by the plaintiffs, the police arrested the culprit, who confessed to both the robberies. Police officials have issued a warning to the public not to frequent remote locations alone in possession of valuables and advised against withdrawing cash from off-shore bank teller machines in the evening.