Saudi Arabia and bizarre laws go hand-in-hand! In another law that has come force in the country, couples will now be punished if they are caught spying on their spouse’s phone. Yes, you heard that right!

In a recent announcement, Saudi Arabia declared that spying on your spouse’s phone will land you in a soup. Not literally, of course! However, spying on your partner’s phone will now be a criminal offence.

People caught in the act would be punished by a hefty fine, and would also be jailed for a period of one year! The official (English language) statement from Saudi Arabia’s Information Ministry read, “Married individuals planning to spy on their spouse in Saudi Arabia will need to think twice, because such an activity could potentially attract a fine of 500,000 riyals ($133,000), along with a prison term for a year.”

The following move comes into effect ‘to protect morals of individuals and society and protect privacy’, said the statement. The provision of ‘punishing partner for spying spouse’s phone’ came as a part of the newly-laid anti-cybercrime law, last week.

The statement further read, “steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, embezzlement and defamation,” are the reasons for the following law to come into effect.

In the last year, Saudi Arabia has come up with a lot of changes in the country’s law policies, since the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In another law policy change in June last year, women were now allowed to drive; also, the decision to lift the ban on the cinemas after 35 years, earlier this year, had raised many eyebrows too!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 03, 2018 05:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).