JEDDAH – The Criminal Court in Jeddah has jailed three brothers to one year in prison each after they locked their mother up in a room and left a guard dog outside to stop her from leaving. They were also sentenced to 140 lashes each. The court heard how the brothers started mistreating their mother following a dispute over how their estate, worth an estimated SR300 million, should be divided. The mother was able to lodge a complaint through a close relative. The complaint was referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP), which investigated the three brothers and decided to remand them in custody as a precautionary measure pending further investigations into the case. They were then formally charged and stood trial. The case was heard by Criminal Court Judge Mazin Sindi. The woman, who is in her 50s, told the court that her sons were pressurizing her to hand over cash, title deeds and checkbooks because they disagreed over how the estate should be divided in accordance with the Islamic law. The public prosecutor demanded the three brothers be given a punishment that would serve as a deterrent to them and others who disobey and harm their parents. Furthermore, he said, they did not follow one of Allah's most important teachings, which is to obey and be kind to parents. After hearing the sons' case, the judge issued a jail sentence and lashes for each of them. He also ordered them to sign an agreement not to repeat the offense. If they do, their penalties will be doubled. Dr. Ahlam Fakhruddin, a psychiatrist, said cases where children disobey parents need to be studied in detail to curb this rising trend. She said Islamic specialists in universities, imams of mosques and the curriculums taught in school can help educate young people on the importance of obeying parents. She added that cases of children disobeying or even assaulting parents are usually linked to either drug addiction or ignorance about their responsibility toward parents. She gave examples of how children disobey their parents, including making them sad, causing them to cry through words and actions, scolding and shouting at them and grumbling when they are asked to do something. Disobedience can even reach the level where children are ordering and criticizing them and beating them, she added.
