Manama: The husband of a Saudi woman was arrested by the police after he staged a dramatic attack scenario to force the woman to pay one million Saudi Riyal.
The police in the Red Sea city of Jeddah said they received a call for assistance from a woman who informed them that two men forced their way into their home, holding a gun and a knife and claimed they were wearing explosive belts.
The two held the husband, an Arab national, and threatened they would kill him unless his wife agreed to pay them the ransom.
The police rushed to the address provided by the woman, who made the secret call, and arrested the two "kidnappers" after overcoming their resistance, Saudi news site Al Marsad reported on Tuesday.
Weapons were seized as evidence of their attack and a search by the police yielded cash in several currencies.
The two men, an Arab and an Asian, told the police during the questioning that they had an agreement with the husband to stage the attack and kidnap scenario to force the woman into paying them the huge amount of money.
The husband was subsequently arrested and the three men will be referred to the public prosecution for further investigations and legal action.
Some comments on social media called for severe punishment for the accomplices while most users used the incident to caution Saudi women against taking foreign husbands.
"This is the result of taking spouses from other nationalities," a user writing under the moniker of Welfare posted. "There should be a strict ban on taking foreign spouses who are keen only on financial gains from marrying Saudis."
Nido said that the state should be very strict in approving marriages with foreigners.
"In such a case, I call for jailing, lashing and deporting the men who attacked the woman and frightened her. I also call for punishing the wife for accepting to marry a foreigner who was interested only in her money," Nido said.
