Man dressed as woman arrested for molestation in Saudi mosque

A man, who disguised as a woman by wearing the traditonal 'abaya', has been arrested for allegedly molesting women at a mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah.

The man, in his 30s and yet to be identified, was arrested by authorities following a complaint that a woman sometimes used to enter the bathroom of Jaarana Mosque and behave oddly.

It was alleged that the 'woman' sexually harassed other women during the ablutions preceding the prayers, the Gulf News reported.

The authorities started monitoring the mosque until they saw a woman, who was behaving suspiciously, leave the building. They tracked her movement and saw her heading towards a car with tinted windows parked near the mosque and got in to the back.

No male driver was found in the car, the report said.

The team quickly approached the car and saw a man taking off the 'abaya' - a loose garment worn by Muslim women in some parts of the world, prompting them to arrest him and seize the garment, it said.

Further investigations are on.