Appropriate Punishment for a Shopaholic?

In Saudi Arabia, a man is entitled to slap his wife if he feels that she has spent too much money. Associated Press reports:

“A Saudi judge told a conference on domestic violence that a man has the right to slap a wife who spends money wastefully and said women were as much to blame as men for increased spousal abuse, a Saudi newspaper reported.The remarks do not carry the weight of law, as they were made out of court. But such public pronouncements by Saudi judges - who are also Islamic clerics - are often widely respected.

It is 2009, what is going on here? If I was forced to wear a robe that covered me head-to-toe, I would at least hope that it could be a nice and even expensive robe. This makes me wonder what went on at that conference, on “domestic violence”. Maybe it included pointers on how best to carry out domestic violence. When they hold conferences on topics as these they appear to have concerns about domestic violence. Is this not, in reality a platform for Sharia-based abuse? http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_SAUDI_WOMENS_RIGHTS?SITE=ORBEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT