An Appeals Court has upheld the verdict of the Jeddah District Court sentencing a Senegalese man to seven years in prison and 1,000 lashes of the whip for conning clients into believing he could use magic powers to multiply their money. A source at the hearing - the date of which was not stated - told Okaz newspaper Wednesday that a Saudi man presented the defendant with 1,000 riyals and was subsequently given 5,000. On the following occasion when he gave 10,000 riyals, the Senegalese man returned to him with 50,000. The defendant reportedly claimed to be able to turn money into greater sums via Qur'anic recitation and also led clients to believe he could turn other currencies into dollars. When the Saudi client approached him a third time with five million riyals seeking a return of 20 million, the defendant took the money and disappeared. After being alerted to the situation, police located the man in a south Jeddah district and made the arrest. The convicted man will be deported upon completing his sentence and his name placed on the list of persons barred entry to the Kingdom, with the judge describing him as “dangerous”.
