A1SaudiArabia.com

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has produced guidelines on how Saudis should behave when abroad. One of the guidelines deals with how servants must be treated in accordance with the laws of the country they are in. Another is not to use corporal punishment on their children. They are also advised not to kiss them on the lips in public places or talk to children they do not know, which could lead to accusation of child molesting. Other advice is to avoid physical gestures to the opposite sex, which could be misinterpreted.

The guidelines follow a series of high profile incidents involving Saudis in a number of countries.

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JEDDAH: A 26-year-old Japanese exchange student was assaulted in February inside a YMCA co-ed student-housing complex in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A man donning a mask turned out the lights of the laundry room and grabbed the woman from behind. She screamed and broke free. Other students came to the rescue and, according to local news reports, detained 19-year-old Khaled Al-Harbi. The student, who was in Canada on a Saudi government scholarship, was diagnosed with psychological problems and has been seeking counseling.

In another case in Bournemouth, UK, earlier this month, another Saudi student was sentenced to 24 weeks in jail. His identity has been registered for seven years on a local law-enforcement list of sexual harassers, according to the Daily Echo newspaper. In that case, the student, 23, was found guilty of public intoxication, stripping naked and chasing a 36-year-old woman through the streets. The woman punched the man and fled.

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