Saudi man executed for murdering wife

Cairo: A Saudi man was executed after he was convicted of murdering his wife by beating and burning her.

The execution of the inmate, identified as Ali bin Humaid, was carried out Tuesday in the holy city of Mecca, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry.

The man was earlier arrested and interrogated. He was then referred to the competent court that convicted him of the murder. The ruling was later upheld by appeals and supreme courts, and approved by a royal order, making it final.

It was not clear when the murder happened or the motive.

Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty against convicts in cases of murder and terror attacks as well as drug smuggling and trafficking.

Last December, Saudi authorities executed a citizen in Medina after he had been convicted of fatally stabbing his mother and sister and burnt their bodies.

The convict had set the two victims’ dead bodies on fire to conceal the murder and his addiction of prescription tablets, the Interior Ministry said at the time.

In August last year, a Saudi man was executed in Riyadh after he had been convicted of torturing his wife to death in their house.

The convict had been charged with torturing and fatally bludgeoning his wife on the head in front of their children after a dispute.

Last week, Saudi police said they had arrested two expatriates for murdering their wives due to rows in two separate cases of domestic violence.