A woman in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 70 lashes after 'insulting ' a man on private messaging service WhatsApp . The unnamed 32-year-old will also have to pay a 20,000 Saudi Riyal ( £3,604 ) fine for tarnishing the reputation of the man , a court has ruled . The case was filed at Al Qatif criminal court in eastern Saudi Arabia by the man following an argument.The nature of the row is unknown . A woman in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 70 lashes after insulting a man on private messaging service WhatsApp , a court has decided . The defendant pleaded guilty to insulting the man but rejected the court ruling , according to a Gulf News report . Article Three of the Saudi Anti-Cyber Crime Law states that any person who commits 'defamation and infliction of damage upon others ' using technological devices might have to face imprisonment for up to a year and a fine not exceeding 500,000 Saudi Riyal ( £90,171 ) . Two women from Jeddah were similarly sentenced to ten days in jail and 20 lashes in June last year after insulting each other using the messaging service . In 2013 the Saudi Arabian government considered banning WhatsApp . Some people believe the government 's attempt to control WhatsApp is due to strict laws on how men and women should interact in the country , where strict gender segregation is enforced . A spokesman for the country 's Communications and Information Technology Commission said at the time : 'We have been communicating with WhatsApp and other similar communication platforms to get them to co-operate and comply with the Saudi telecom providers , however nothing has come of this communication yet . ' Some people believe the government 's attempt to control WhatsApp is due to strict laws on how men and women should interact in the country . A Saudi husband has divorced his wife after she updated her WhatsApp status to include a reference about having to be patient with him . The man said he had been on the private messaging service when he noticed his wife had written : ' I pray to be patient enough to put up with you ' followed by his initials . Although he was not initially sure whether the message was directed at him it was confirmed by friends and family , newspaper Al-Hayat reported . The unnamed man said : ' I called one of my relatives to check whether she was addressing me . ' I was so embarrassed that my friends ' wives and relatives could see that I was being portrayed in such a light . ' The country 's Ministry of Justice said the top reason for divorce was social media .
The case was filed at Al Qatif criminal court by the man following an argument . The 32-year-old woman accepted insulting him , but rejected the court ruling . She will have to pay 20,000 Saudi Riyal ( £3,604 ) in damages and costs for her lawyer to defend her against a charge of inciting hatred towards Islam.