Man gets 30 lashes for smoking on plane

A Sudanese man has been sentenced to 30 lashes for smoking on a domestic Saudi Arabian Airlines flight, local media reported on Monday.

The unnamed man had refused to put out his cigarette on the flight to the Red Sea port city of Jeddah from Qurayyat in northern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Gazette said.

He was arrested by police when the aircraft landed in Jeddah and sentenced to 30 lashes by a local court on Sunday.

The man apologised and said he was attending clinic to help him stop smoking, according to the report.

AFP