Vice ring members jailed, to be lashed

A Saudi court sentenced two men to prison terms and ordered them lashed before being deported out of the Gulf kingdom after they were convicted of indulging in prostitution, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Police, acting on a tip-off from neighbours, raided their apartment in the Western Res Sea port of Jeddah and arrested the two Arab men and a woman.

The ring leader was sentenced to four years in prison and 200 lashes and was fined SR200,000 (Dh200,000). The court sentenced the other man to one year in jail and ordered him lashed 90 times, according to Sada newspaper.

It said the court ordered the deportation of the woman but did not make clear if she would also be jailed or whipped.