Saudi vice squad member held for having six wives

A member of the Saudi religious police has been accused of having six wives at the same time - two more than allowed under religious laws.

The 56-year-old man, who is an employee of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, is under investigation in Jazan province, south-west of the kingdom.

Three of the women involved were Saudis and the other three were from Yemen, just over the border.

The accused denies the women are all currently his wives and says he has divorced two of them.

Muslim men can keep up to four wives at a time under sharia, or Islamic law, which is applied in Saudi Arabia.

Members of the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice are expected to enforce the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam, particularly regarding relations between the sexes.