Aussie grandfather jailed, whipped in Saudi Arabia for having home brewed alcohol

[BwindiBoy]

But he's a criminal Sir...

[Alwyn]

Can you image if this happen to a Aussie in Israel The Australian Government the UN and most of the world will go crazy

But Saudi Arabia nothing

Wake up soon

But I doubt that they will

That's a great and valid point! It's the same with ISIS, they behead hundreds upon hundreds of Palestinians in camp Yarmouk and not one person protesting in London etc. Un say they're having a meeting about it...

[thaibeachlovers]

Some will say don;t do the crime if you are not prepared to do the time. Fair enough. My question to the expats who work there, Is it really worth it??

I worked there for 4 years and IMO no, it's not worth it. However, given that many of the foreigners that go there are stupid pissheads it's hard to feel sorry for them if they get caught.

Short story. On my first arrival I was picked up at the airport by some official from the hospital who took me to my accomodation. He came into the flat with me ( uninvited ) and proceeded to look around the flat looking for???? Luckily he missed the plastic rubbish bin full of home brew wine that my new flatmate was making.

I was very happy when I was able to move to another flat without an idiot brewing certain jail time for both of us if caught.

[thaibeachlovers]

Another example of "Islamic Intolerance" but in the west I am told we must embrace all things of all cultures.

That is because the PC nutters have taken over the western world.

[thaibeachlovers]

What is it with Australians who knowingly break the law abroad and then seek public support to escape the punishment set forth for breaking that law?

Maybe he should just go ahead with their laws an bang a few 9 year old girls instead would that make you happy you P O S I bet you are a muslim

Seriously! You'd have to marry the girl to do that, and I doubt they'd let an infidel marry one of theirs in KSA.

I forget what the punishment for unmarried sex is in KSA, but it's pretty severe.

I doubt you've even been there to write such rubbish.

[Happy Grumpy]

Can you image if this happen to a Aussie in Israel The Australian Government the UN and most of the world will go crazy.

I imagine they would.

After all, he wouldn't have been committing a punishable crime if he had done it there.

[konying]

What is it with Australians who knowingly break the law abroad and then seek public support to escape the punishment set forth for breaking that law?

Maybe he should just go ahead with their laws an bang a few 9 year old girls instead would that make you happy you P O S I bet you are a muslim

Seriously! You'd have to marry the girl to do that, and I doubt they'd let an infidel marry one of theirs in KSA.

I forget what the punishment for unmarried sex is in KSA, but it's pretty severe.

I doubt you've even been there to write such rubbish.

Just out of curiosity, what if one was to convert for the time being.

Would all the punishments apply the same? and would one still be considered an infidel or part of the brotherhood?

[Chicog]

There is probably more to this - like they caught him red-handed selling it.

He knew the risks so tough s---.

[thaibeachlovers]

What is it with Australians who knowingly break the law abroad and then seek public support to escape the punishment set forth for breaking that law?

Maybe he should just go ahead with their laws an bang a few 9 year old girls instead would that make you happy you P O S I bet you are a muslim

Seriously! You'd have to marry the girl to do that, and I doubt they'd let an infidel marry one of theirs in KSA.

I forget what the punishment for unmarried sex is in KSA, but it's pretty severe.

I doubt you've even been there to write such rubbish.

Just out of curiosity, what if one was to convert for the time being.

Would all the punishments apply the same? and would one still be considered an infidel or part of the brotherhood?

If you convert, you'd better not still be in KSA if you stop being a Muslim. I think the penalty is death. They used to pay foreigners to convert to Islam, but when they realised they were only doing it for the money and reneging after leaving KSA for good they stopped doing that. They were always on at me to convert, and I know one guy that did.

Far as I know you would be able to marry 4 wives, if you could afford it. There has been a case of a Muslim marrying young girls and after taking their virginity divorcing them. Pretty sick guy.

I had to look after a 70 year old man that had had a penile implant so he could have sex with his new 17 year old wife.

[Linky]

What is it with Australians who knowingly break the law abroad and then seek public support to escape the punishment set forth for breaking that law?

Maybe he should just go ahead with their laws an bang a few 9 year old girls instead would that make you happy you P O S I bet you are a muslim

Seriously! You'd have to marry the girl to do that, and I doubt they'd let an infidel marry one of theirs in KSA.

I forget what the punishment for unmarried sex is in KSA, but it's pretty severe.

I doubt you've even been there to write such rubbish.

Just out of curiosity, what if one was to convert for the time being.

Would all the punishments apply the same? and would one still be considered an infidel or part of the brotherhood?

You cannot convert for the time being. You convert for life. You will be treated the same as any muslim, if in fact they know you are one.

In Malaysia non muslims are treated differently. I have been in a raid of a club with my girlfriend. Us westerners lined up against one wall and muslims against the other. We where told we could leave.

Girlfriend let go about 2 hours later after a being 'spoken to' about alcohol and her religion.

She gets a lot more than a talking to if she is caught living with me though. But nowhere near how bad it would be in SA.

[gandalf12]

Everyone is forgetting a couple of basic facts. Firstly Saudi has oil. Not as much as they would have you believe but they do have some. The West wants it so they say nothing about the human rights there. It was worse than i South Africa but hey SA doesn't have enough oil to worry about so we can have a go at them.

Secondly, the West makes a fortune out of armament deals with Saudi. Think they are going to lose that for a few people? Not a chance in hell.

So when you look at it these incidents have nothing to do with people, they are dispensable. It is all to do with oil and money

[Linky]

What is it with Australians who knowingly break the law abroad and then seek public support to escape the punishment set forth for breaking that law?

Maybe he should just go ahead with their laws an bang a few 9 year old girls instead would that make you happy you P O S I bet you are a muslim

Seriously! You'd have to marry the girl to do that, and I doubt they'd let an infidel marry one of theirs in KSA.
I forget what the punishment for unmarried sex is in KSA, but it's pretty severe.
I doubt you've even been there to write such rubbish.

Just out of curiosity, what if one was to convert for the time being.

Would all the punishments apply the same? and would one still be considered an infidel or part of the brotherhood?

If you convert, you'd better not still be in KSA if you stop being a Muslim. I think the penalty is death. They used to pay foreigners to convert to Islam, but when they realised they were only doing it for the money and reneging after leaving KSA for good they stopped doing that. They were always on at me to convert, and I know one guy that did.

Far as I know you would be able to marry 4 wives, if you could afford it. There has been a case of a Muslim marrying young girls and after taking their virginity divorcing them. Pretty sick guy.

I had to look after a 70 year old man that had had a penile implant so he could have sex with his new 17 year old wife.

I'm not exactly sure but think a muslim can only divorce 3 times. After that he cannot marry again. Still too many times for the sicko to take the virginity of a young girl under false pretences though.

[copa8]

Can you image if this happen to a Aussie in Israel The Australian Government the UN and most of the world will go crazy

But Saudi Arabia nothing

Wake up soon

But I doubt that they will

What has this to do with Israel?

I'm surprised China hasn't been mentioned yet. Usually, it is whenever there's negative news...either related or unrelated.

[cookee68]

Every country has its laws, I suggest people read them first, if you don't like them, then don't go there, remember a foreigner in an un civilised country will get no special treatment,

[Scott]

Off-topic, inflammatory post removed.

[jacko45k]

If he was caught with it in his car, then he was obviously transporting it, possibly even selling/trafficking it.

Not a thing to do in KSA where alcohol is strictly illegal and road checks are common.

Surprised he is being kept there, I would have thought he would be expelled after serving his sentence.

Risky behaviour.

[Mot Dang]

Some will say don;t do the crime if you are not prepared to do the time. Fair enough. My question to the expats who work there, Is it really worth it??

In 1974 I was offered a job in Jeddah. I knew nothing about the place so started reading up. A funny story that caught my eye was that someone in the American Embassy was called to come down to the docks as the crate in which his newly arrived piano came in, was "leaking". You can take it from there.

Didn't take the (well paid) job, just too much bloody hassle.

[Tassie Norm]

What is it with Australians who knowingly break the law abroad and then seek public support to escape the punishment set forth for breaking that law?

I did not read the offenders comments as you describe. 'Public support'? 'Escape punishment'? Nuh. Simply, he was lamenting a 5 week delay in assistance from the Oz Embassy - a quite reasonable statement. All Australians are legally entilted to Consular assistance. Quite reasonable I believe.

[Naam]

Had many of liters of Johnnie Walker Black in Al Khobar. Saw it smuggled into Saudi by the overseas container load. Thats a 40 ft sea container. Guess how many cases you get in one of those babies. They have under ground bars for expats that would put bars to shame her in Thailand. Bottle of JW goes for about 8000 baht. When your in the game you know the penalties.

if you are caught in the Eastern Province (mainly Dammam / Al Khobar area) with a load of JW either colour nothing will happen to you because everybody knows that you are working for a high ranking monopolist.

but if you are caught with home-brew (whether wine or sadiqui) then...

[Andre0720]

“I knew it was wrong...

Not correct.

Should have written:

I knew it was not allowed in a country living by rules dating from the middle ages..

[geriatrickid]

Can you image if this happen to a Aussie in Israel The Australian Government the UN and most of the world will go crazy

But Saudi Arabia nothing

Wake up soon

But I doubt that they will

What has this to do with Israel?

He was pointing out the double standard that exists in the world.

In regard to the punishment, there is punishment and then there is abuse. I don't believe it wrong to question abusive punishments.

Edited April 15, 2015 by geriatrickid

[Naam]

Another example of "Islamic Intolerance" but in the west I am told we must embrace all things of all cultures.

it has nothing to do with intolerance but your comment demonstrates your ignorance! it's the law of the country. period! there are countries where you can smoke pot and stash a pound or more in your home.

but here in South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Viet Nam and last not least Thailand) it could mean death penalty. it's the law of these countries and if you live in one of them you better "embrace" it.

next intelligent remark please

[NeverSure]

Another example of "Islamic Intolerance" but in the west I am told we must embrace all things of all cultures.

it has nothing to do with intolerance but your comment demonstrates your ignorance! it's the law of the country. period! there are countries where you can smoke pot and stash a pound or more in your home.

but here in South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Viet Nam and last not least Thailand) it could mean death penalty. it's the law of these countries and if you live in one of them you better "embrace" it.

next intelligent remark please

I think the point was that countries are intolerant for having the laws in the first place. I didn't see anyone post that someone should break those laws. I wouldn't break this alcohol law but I do it legally in my home so I think they are intolerant.

[up-country_sinclair]

He willfully broke the law, and we can only assume he was aware of the possible consequences.

And by the way, what difference does it make that he's a grandfather? He's a 57 year old man living with the results of his poor judgement.

[canman]

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Some will say don;t do the crime if you are not prepared to do the time. Fair enough.

My question to the expats who work there, Is it really worth it??

I do wonder how the compensation works vs Dubai or another neigbor country vs Saudi.

In the oil and gas industry, big bucks, no tax.

I have turned down several big paychecks from there.

Big is relative. Saudi doesnt pay great money

At the time 2.5K / day tax free looked tempting to me.

[chuckd]

I have a good friend working there now that is being paid the equivalent of 1.4 Million baht per month.

[Naam]

Another example of "Islamic Intolerance" but in the west I am told we must embrace all things of all cultures.

it has nothing to do with intolerance but your comment demonstrates your ignorance! it's the law of the country. period! there are countries where you can smoke pot and stash a pound or more in your home.

but here in South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Viet Nam and last not least Thailand) it could mean death penalty. it's the law of these countries and if you live in one of them you better "embrace" it.

next intelligent remark please

I think the point was that countries are intolerant for having the laws in the first place. I didn't see anyone post that someone should break those laws. I wouldn't break this alcohol law but I do it legally in my home so I think they are intolerant.

in Saudi Arabia your home is your castle NeverSure. nobody cares if you drink alcohol and get drunk at home. driving around with a certain quantity of home brew means "obvious intent to sell". and that's a different piece of cake.

[Naam]

Another example of "Islamic Intolerance" but in the west I am told we must embrace all things of all cultures.

it has nothing to do with intolerance but your comment demonstrates your ignorance! it's the law of the country. period! there are countries where you can smoke pot and stash a pound or more in your home.

but here in South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Viet Nam and last not least Thailand) it could mean death penalty. it's the law of these countries and if you live in one of them you better "embrace" it.

next intelligent remark please

I think the point was that countries are intolerant for having the laws in the first place. I didn't see anyone post that someone should break those laws. I wouldn't break this alcohol law but I do it legally in my home so I think they are intolerant.

a good friend of mine lives in Bolivia where the consumption of coca leaves is legal. in fact president Evo Morales said publicly "our ancestors chewed coca for a couple of thousand years. we chew too and nobody in Washington has the right to tell us not to!"

question: do most of the countries where possessing or chewing coca leaves invokes punishment have "intolerant laws"?

[thaibeachlovers]

Some will say don;t do the crime if you are not prepared to do the time. Fair enough. My question to the expats who work there, Is it really worth it??

In 1974 I was offered a job in Jeddah. I knew nothing about the place so started reading up. A funny story that caught my eye was that someone in the American Embassy was called to come down to the docks as the crate in which his newly arrived piano came in, was "leaking". You can take it from there.

Didn't take the (well paid) job, just too much bloody hassle.

Jeddah was fine. You could even walk around with a female not related to yourself. I'd probably never have left if I'd got a job in Jeddah. Riyadh was too wahabi though.

[BlackJack]

yes be careful as they have good police cars to catch you

http://gulfbusiness.com/2013/04/the-coolest-police-cars-in-the-world/#.VS8Y0fBA7E8