The 31-year-old man, who had travelled to the emirate in July to visit his wife, who worked there, slashed his wrists in a jealous rage  at 3am in the morning, after the last guest had left a dinner party they had hosted in the wife's flat. 

 

The man then locked himself in the bathroom, where he collapsed unconscious on the floor.  He was only rescued when police broke in, after which he was rushed him to a local hospital. 

 

The man denied that he had intended to kill himself, explaining that he had been cutting bread during the argument, and had then slashed himself in a sudden rush of anger.

 

“I locked myself in the bathroom because I was ashamed of what I had done,” he told the court. 

 

His wife told the court that her husband, who visited Dubai quite regularly, had become increasingly jealous of her male friends. “When the dinner party was over, we argued because he accused me of not paying him enough attention,” she said. 

 

Although attempted suicide is not illegal in Norway,  it remains an offence in much of the Arab world.  The man will be deported from the United Arab Emirates once he has served his sentence.