Saudi police arrest man for SPEAKING to a woman during his lunch break after she approached him outside a fast food restaurant
- Footage shows woman approaching worker behind eatery in the city of Mecca
- The unnamed pair have a brief conversation before the woman walks off again
- Police identified the man before arresting and 'punishing' him for the 'crime'
Saudi police have arrested a man for speaking to a woman during his lunch break after she approached him outside a fast food restaurant.
Footage emerged online showing a woman approaching the restaurant worker behind the eatery in the city of Mecca in the kingdom's west.
The clip, in which the pair appear to have a brief conversation, divided opinion online with some outraged by their 'immoral' behaviour and others saying there was nothing wrong with the interaction.
However, the worker was soon identified before being arrested and 'punished', according to police.
Saudi police have arrested a man for speaking to a woman (left) during his lunch break after she approached him outside a fast food restaurant
Footage emerged online showing a woman approaching the restaurant worker behind the eatery in the city of Mecca in the kingdom's west
According to Stepfeed, Mecca police said in a statement: 'After a thorough investigation into the matter, officers identified the place where the incident happened. It is a fast food restaurant located behind a school.
'The woman seen in the video is a student at the school and approached the man during the lunch break, going against our norms and values.
'After police officers identified the man, he was arrested, investigated and punished according to our rules and regulations.'
The video emerged just weeks after the kingdom's powerful Crown Prince vowed to restore 'moderate, open' Islam, breaking with ultra-conservative clerics in favour of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth.
The country has recently started to loosen its ultra-conservative rules, including allowing women to drive and hosting a mixed-gender national day.
The clip, in which the pair have a brief conversation, divided opinion online with some outraged by their 'immoral' behaviour and others saying there was nothing wrong with the interaction
The worker was soon identified before being arrested and 'punished', according to police
However, women are still barred from having any interaction with a man who she is not related to without permission from a male guardian, and have no rights in custody battles when the children reach a certain age.
The nation is also known for its feared religious police with lashings handed out for infringements as minor as a woman not wearing her hijab.
The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, as it is officially known, is responsible for ensuring Islamic laws are not broken in public.
But it has repeatedly been accused of human rights violations.
In 2002, the committee refused to allow female students out of a burning school in the holy city of Mecca because they were not wearing correct head cover. The decision is thought to have contributed to the high death toll of 15.
Another recent case has seen a blogger sentenced to a thousand lashes for insulting Islam having created a website called Free Saudi Liberals.
Most watched News videos
- Hero forces man off subway after punching woman in the face
- Hilarious moment parrot talk turns on the lights using Alexa
- Dashcam footage shows potential sighting of Gaia Pope
- Off-duty cop wrestles with hysterical driver ranting at motorist
- Wheel of Fortune contestants lose out on 1 MILLION DOLLARS
- Gaia Pope's family believe there's still hope of finding her alive
- Devastated sister of Gaia Pope gives an emotional tribute
- 'Sit here like a man' Piers Morgan confronts convicted killer
- Is this astronaut reflection proof moon landing was a hoax?
- Children's author shows how John Lewis advert 'rips off' his book
- 'We are devastated' Gaia Pope's cousin gives a statement
- Protective mama dog shields her baby from the elements
- Argentina detects seven failed satellite calls from...
- What were you INKING? Incredible pictures show the...
- Thug who killed schoolboy Damilola Taylor with a broken...
- Yorkshire Ripper is rushed to hospital over a heart scare...
- British couple is left devastated after their dream...
- Yazidi woman, 24, who was captured by ISIS and sold as a...
- Top nuclear general says he would REFUSE Trump's order to...
- Robert Mugabe STEPS DOWN to end 37 years in power:...
- Conspiracy theorists claim 1972 snap from Apollo 17...
- Indian medical student, 20, is crowned Miss World 2017 in...
- 'I am in longitude 0.0 and latitude 0.0, please help me':...
- Top of the crops! Original images of carefully edited...
- The very picture of devotion: The Queen and Prince Philip...
- How the rise of veganism could ruin America: Study warns...
- Four Albanian commandos VANISH on a Nato training mission...
- Partridge Family star David Cassidy, 67, is placed in an...
- David Davis 'is on the brink of resigning' over bombshell...
- Are we going to have a White Christmas? Forecasters...