A sister of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been handed a 10-month suspended sentence after she ordered her bodyguard to beat a plumber at her luxury apartment in Paris.

Hassa bint Salman, 42, was also handed a £10,000 fine on Thursday in absetia after she failed to turn up for a single day of her trial, which got underway in July.

The court heard how Hassa, who is also the daughter of Saudi Arabia's ruler King Salman, ordered bodyguard Rani Saidi to beat up plumber Ashraf Eid after he was seen taking pictures inside her home in September 2016.

Hassa bint Salman (pictured), a daughter of King Salman, was charged with instructing her bodyguard to beat up a plumber

Saidi, who was the only person involved who showed up to court, was handed an eight-month suspended sentence and a 5,000-euro fine, in line with the recommendations of prosecutors.

Hassa's sentence was heavier than demanded by prosecutors, who had sought a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of 5,000 euros ($5,480).

Emmanuel Moyne, who represented Hassa during the trial, immediately launched an appeal against the sentence, calling it 'inexplicable'.

Under French law, an appeal bid automatically triggers a new trial.

Eid was working on the seventh floor of the luxury apartment block owned by the Saudi royals on Avenue Foch, Paris's most exclusive address, when he was called to the fifth floor to repair a damaged wash basin.

He took pictures of the bathroom which he told investigators he needed to carry out his work.

Eid claims that the princess flew into a rage after he caught her reflection in a mirror on camera. She called in her bodyguard, who allegedly beat him.

Hassa bint Salman is the sister of powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (left). Hassa She is being represented by Emmanuel Moyne (pictured right)

Eid claimed he was also tied up and ordered to kiss the feet of the princess, who is lionised in the Saudi state-run media for her charity work and women's rights campaigning.

The plumber claimed that he was allowed to leave the apartment only after several hours, during which his phone was destroyed, and that at one point the princess shouted: 'Kill him, the dog, he doesn't deserve to live.'

The case is the latest blow to the image of the kingdom, where Prince Mohammed sparked hopes of major social and economic reform when he was elevated to crown prince in 2017.

But his reputation was badly damaged by the murder of dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul last year.

He is also seen as the driving force in the Saudi military intervention in Yemen, where tens of thousands have died.