Father gets 15 years in jail for killing 'jinn' baby

Riyadh: A man, who killed his baby claiming the four-month old was possessed by jinn (ghost) and caused the death of his wife, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail and 1,500 lashes by a Saudi court.

A plea by the wife’s family for death penalty was rejected by the judge in the Makkah court who explained that the defendant would serve five years for deliberately killing his four-month-old baby and 10 years for causing the death of his wife and driving under the influence of drugs.

The tragedy occurred last year. The father, who was reportedly high on drugs, while driving started to beat his baby and then threw the child out of the window, Saudi daily Okaz reported on Wednesday.

Under the shock, the wife tried to flee and look for help, but she was hit on the highway by a speeding truck and was killed.

The husband left the area and stopped a passing police patrol car and started mumbling incomprehensible words to the officer.