Wife accuses husband of spying

By Adnan Al-Shabrawi Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A wife accused her husband of spying on her by planting a bug in the landline phone. A source said Jeddah Court forwarded the case of a married couple in conflict to the reconciliation committee. “The wife accused the husband of spying on her and monitoring her phone calls with her friends and family. The husband denied that he was spying on his wife and claimed that he had bought the device to spy on the housemaid. The wife argued that the husband knew that she used the landline more than her mobile phone due to poor cell reception,” said the source. Lawyer and legal consultant Khalid Abu Rashid said spying on a spouse is a crime punishable by law. “The punishment is up to the court to decide depending on the case and the private and public rights it violates. Posting private recordings, pictures of information of the spouse on social media is an information crime,” said Abu Rashid. He added, culprits may face up to a year in prison, a fine of SR500 or both. “Beware of recording people without their permission. The consequences may be legal. Banks, telecommunication companies, hospital and customer service companies notify the callers that their phone calls will be recorded and that is a disclaimer,” said the source.