A 14-year-old boy was recently arrested by Saudi Police after dancing to the popular 1990s song “Macarena” at a busy intersection in the city of Jeddah in south-western Saudi Arabia. He was released Wednesday, with warnings about road safety.

Video of boy dancing the ‘Macarena’ goes viral

As reported by Reuters, social media soon picked up the video of the boy dancing to the “Macarena,” making it go viral online. However, in the process of making the video, the dancer locked five lanes of traffic at a busy intersection in the city, leading to his arrest.

Viewers seeing him dancing gave varying comments on the video with some calling him a “hero” for his actions and others suggesting his behavior was “immoral.”

While the boy was obviously enjoying himself, due to the nature of the conservative country and the fact that Saudis have no codified penal law, judges and officials have wide discretion over the arrest and punishment of children. When the teenager – whose identity was not reported – was arrested, Saudi police said they were questioning the 14-year-old over "disrupting traffic" and improper behavior in public.

The boy was released on Wednesday after a Ministry of the Interior statement said they had questioned the teenager and his legal guardian and were not laying any charges.

However he was warned about road safety in the future and he and his guardian had to sign a written pledge that the boy will not engage in this type of behavior again, which could endanger both his own life and the lives of others. The statement went on to say they wanted to warn the teenager about the potential consequences of his actions and to protect the safety of pedestrians and motorists.

Man arrested in Saudi Arabia for ‘dabbing’ at a music festival

However, as noted by the BBC, a Saudi national, Abdallah Al Shahani, who works as a TV host and actor, was arrested over the previous weekend after “dabbing” at a music concert in the city of Taif in Saudi Arabia. The dance move involves the dancer putting their head into the crook of their arm.

The move is believed to have originated in the Atlanta, Georgia hip-hop scene a few years ago.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia consider “dabbing” to be a reference to the drugs culture and it is banned in the ultra-conservative country under the National Commission for Combating Drugs, which forms part of the Interior Ministry. Officials believe the dance move refers to the use of marijuana and have published a poster warning of the dangers of the dance move on both youth and society (included in the above tweet).

A video of Al Shahani’s "dabbing" also went viral on social media.
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