Saudi authorities have arrested a man for shooting a male doctor who had helped his wife’s delivery, after arguing that a female doctor should have overseen the birth.

The doctor, Muhannad Al Zabn, delivered the baby in April at the King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh, Gulf News reported.

The father offered his thanks to the doctor and asked to meet him at the hospital to show him his appreciation in person for the delivery.

The pair proceeded to meet in the hospital garden to talk about the delivery when the father unveiled a firearm and shot at the doctor, seriously wounded him.

The father ran from the scene but Saudi police later arrested him. Health workers transferred Al Zabn to the hospital’s intensive care unit but he is now in a stable condition.

Bassam Al Buraikan, spokesperson for the King Fahad Medical City hospital confirmed the incident to Gulf News and said that authorities were conducting an investigation using evidence from the scene of the shooting.

The incident divided opinion online, with most supporting the doctor but some questioning why the father was put in such a position.

One Twitter user wrote: "Just when you thought 'jealousy' can’t get worse."

A prominent Arab Twitter user, Ahmad S. Algarni, asked why the hospital did not meet the request of the jealous father.