A Saudi official says a local man in his sixties has died after setting himself on fire in the southwestern town of Samta.
It is apparently the kingdom's first case of self-immolation since an unemployed man set himself on fire in Tunisia last month and sparked riots which brought down the government.
Since that time there have been a rash of copycat immolations across the region, though with few fatalities.
Civil defense spokesman Capt. Yahia al-Qahtani said in a statement published by Saudi newspapers Saturday that the man, in his sixties, died in hospital Friday and the case was being investigated.
No name or motive was given.
Saudi Grand Mufti Sheik Abdel Aziz Al Sheikh on Thursday condemned suicide even if it was driven by harsh living conditions.
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family fled to Saudi Arabia when he was ousted after weeks of protests against soaring prices, unemployment and government repression.
Despite its massive oil wealth, Saudi Arabia is grappling with unemployment that hit 10.5 percent in 2009, the latest published figure.
It offers its 18 million nationals social benefits but they are considered less generous than those provided by other Gulf Arab oil producers such as Kuwait and Qatar, which have much smaller native populations.
Many Saudis lack the qualifications to compete for jobs with foreign workers who make up about a third of the kingdom's 28 million population. Others refuse to take low-paid work of the sort done by foreigners, mostly from the Indian subcontinent.
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