JEDDAH: Two young women and two men who were caught together at a wild party that involved in dancing and singing at a beach resort have been given interesting alternative sentences.
The Criminal Court in Jeddah ordered the two girls to visit 10 patients at an intensive care unit of a government hospital, while the two young men will be digging five graves.
Sources quoted by a local daily said the prosecutor has objected to the sentence. He has decided to challenge the verdict.
A number of judges across the Kingdom prefer issuing alternative sentences, or non-jail sentences.
Judge Yasser Al-Balawi at the criminal court in Tabuk is well-known for such sentences.
He described this approach as a means of sparing the guilty and their families of the negative impact as a result of jail sentences, such as family problems, negative societal perceptions about prisoners and potential unemployment, which could exacerbate crime levels in the long run.
Many specialists and experts have called for application of alternative sentences during the Haj season in place of harsher sentences such as lashing or jail as a means to reduce punishment and provide services to pilgrims.
Services could include guiding pilgrims, working in Tawafa organizations and helping pilgrims collect stones for Jamrat rituals, among others.

SOURCE:   http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/759691

According to a judicial source, application of such alternative sentences during the Haj season is already in place, and there is an objection to replacing harsher penalties with community-based penalties that will serve the greater public interest, noting that the application of these sentences is up to the circuit judge who decides what is appropriate in each case.