Man sentenced to 'cleaning' prison

A Saudi judge went out of his way and offered two options to a local man convicted of threatening to shoot another—either three months in prison and 300 lashes or cleaning the prison for one week. The defendant instantly picked the second option.

“The defendant chose to clean the prison for five hours a day for one week instead of going into prison,” the Arabic language daily Al Watan said.

It quoted judge Yasser Al Balwi in the Northwestern town of Tabuk as saying he gave the defendant the choice so he will stay with his family, “which now needs him.”

He said the defendant was also relieved from paying a fine after the plaintiff dropped the case against him.