Manama: A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to five years in prison for making an indecent proposal on a social network.
The court in Dammam, in eastern Saudi Arabia, also ruled that the man who used a social network to announce his readiness for sex acts receive 600 lashes.
The man, believed to be in his 30s, was arrested after a Saudi national alerted the authorities about the posting of “an indecent proposal to offer himself for sexual acts” on a Facebook account, local news site Sabq reported.
The man was arrested and he admitted that had made the sex proposal via Facebook, the report said.
Saudi Arabia, bans deviant sexual behaviour and its courts punishes it with corporal sentences.
Online comments were unanimous about the “need to punish the man for going public with his vices.”
“I cannot believe that he has done this and he is supposed to be a mature person in his 30s,” Amer wrote.
Om Muhannad said that she was shocked by his proposal.
“I have always had concerns about teenagers, and now I read about a man in his 30s getting into such acts,” she wrote.
However, Abu Khalid said that the case needed special treatment.
“It is a serious issue and the man needs help. Let us pray that he overcomes his condition. It is very wrong to condemn him. We have to be careful because someone in the family could also be afflicted one day,” he wrote.
Mohammad Abu Adel said that people should not be quick to condemn the man.
“He may have mental or psychological issues. Do you seriously think that someone with a sane mind would do this? Please do watch what you post,” he commented on the news site.
