RIYADH, Dec 21, 2009 (AFP) - A Saudi man was beheaded by the sword on Monday after being convicted of stabbing his father to death, the interior ministry said.

Khaled bin Saleh al-Owfi was found guilty of stabbing his father several times in the chest causing his death, said a ministry statement carried by the SPA state news agency.

Owfi, who also stabbed and injured his brother, had consumed pills of a banned stimulant, known locally as Captagon, the statement said.

His decapitation in the western region of Mecca took to 66 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year.

In 2008, Saudi Arabia put 102 people to death.

Under the strict version of Islamic sharia law enforced in Saudi Arabia, the death penalty can be imposed for rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking.