Early on Wednesday, a 22-year-old Indonesian domestic worker received a 5-year jail sentence for tearing up a copy of the holy Quran at her sponsor's home in Ajman, UAE, Gulf News reported.
"The Ajman Criminal Court found the woman, identified by her initials K.L., guilty and sentenced her to five years in jail, to be followed by deportation," the English language daily wrote.
The woman reportedly tore up the Quran during a dispute with her employer's wife.
The incident, which dates back to August of this year, happened after the wife accused the worker of theft.
After she denied the accusation, the wife then handed her a copy of the holy book and asked her to swear on it.
When she refused to do that, a heated argument ensued between the two women and ended with the domestic worker tearing up the Holy Quran.
According to Gulf News, the domestic worker's sponsors immediately filed a case against her.
She was referred to court after she "confessed to her crime."
A serious offense in countries across the Arab world
In countries across the Arab world, including Gulf nations, any inappropriate or offensive action against the holy Quran is considered a serious crime.
This is certainly not the first incident in which a person is jailed for a similar 'offense.'
Earlier this year, a teen who was seen 'spitting' on the holy Quran in a video that went viral in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and several other Gulf countries, was arrested in Riyadh.
At the time, the city's Police spokesperson Gen. Fawaz Al Meeman released a statement on the matter saying:
"Riyadh authorities were able to identify and locate the teen who offended the holy Quran. He is a 15-year-old and therefore has been placed in a social services detention center. Riyadh's prosecutor office has been notified of the incident and will be taking action shortly."