When in Saudi, don’t joke with police

A Saudi man was sentenced to three months in jail and ordered lashed 50 times for lying to the police when he reported an accelerator fault while driving his car at 170 kph.

His report triggered a police alert and scores of traffic police cars rushed to the road in the central town of Buraidah only to discover later the driver was lying.

“He told police later that he made a false report just for fun,” police spokesman Colonel Fahd Al Aidan said. “He was sentenced to three months in prison and is to be lashed 50 times for such a behavior.”