Dubai: Two Britons who were accused of having sex on a Dubai beach have been sentenced to a 3 month jail term the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours.
V.A., A British man who was visiting the emirate at the time of the incident and M.P., a British female resident of Dubai were also fined Dh1,000 and will be deported after serving their jail sentence.
M.P., a British resident of Dubai for the past three years and her alleged sex partner, V.A., both in their 30s, were charged with engaging in sexual activity in public, committing an indecent gesture in public and consuming alcohol after they were caught on a public beach in Jumeirah on July 5.
The pairs' lawyer, Hasan Mattar, had during the trial had in his argument said that "The Public Prosecution failed to produce corroborative evidence against my clients concerning having consensual sex and committing indecent gestures in public. The suspects tested positive for liquor, which appeared in their blood and urine tests." said that his clients would be appealing the verdict.
more here
Posts
27 comments:
As I said before, if they really were being naughty (having sex and not just snuggling and kissing), then they should not be surprised. If not, well then sadly we'll never find out what happened.
I know of a family who live in Dubai (Brits) who are not married and have 4 kids. Is this illegal? Does anyone care? How do they get visas? Shouldn't they be slightly worried after this s-o-t-b fiasco?
"The Public Prosecution failed to produce corroborative evidence against my clients concerning having consensual sex and committing indecent gestures in public."
WTF!!!
What happened to the police officer who said he was called names and assaulted...wasn't his word enough or did he fail to appear in the court...
3 months...that's just ridiculous...
It should've been 3 years .......
Quite right 3yrs minimum PE bringing Dubai and the reputation of the UK into disrepute. How very dare they? Off with the goolies too for that matter...that'll learn anyone to bonk on a beach allegedly or not.
Oh well, what did you guys expect? They are Brits ain't they?
Oh well, what did you guys expect? They are Brits, ain't they?
If sex on the beach is banned, how come it's served in bars?
i*maginate,
it's like in ramadan, you could be served a takeaway food but you've got to eat it indoor (or somewhere private).
Selling sex in bars is *slightly* different from HAVING sex out in public. I am a critic of many things about the UAE but I really don't see a reason to take a piss out of Dubai in this case. There can be kids on a beach, what about them? I mean does it really warrant a discussion?
PE: you doubt the judgement of the Judge? Pretty much all any of us know about this case is what has been reported through the press (some of it British tabloids - notorious scandal-mongers).
I believe the Police Officer failed to turn up a few times. It seems there's very little actual evidence of what went on here...
i think its a lousy reason to jail someone..
I have to rub my chin sceptically at this one - jail for drunken fumblings. With all that champagne I doubt much could havebeen achieved other than lookng like a shameful arse.
OK - you disrespect the laws of a nation you have to pay but there is no victim other than the slobbery drunken bufoons who did it and the sense of propriety of (some of ) the nationals - why not a big fine and out on the next plane. It does no one any good and the UK tabloids will have a field day on Dubai jail stories...
The BBC report
I'm currently in Canada and at least three people in the past two days have asked me about this....that's way more than ask about big tall building, man-made islands or anything else Dubai does to grab headlines.
Ok maybe with teh exception of Federer and Agassi playing tennis on the Burj. That one really resonated.
They're infidels and they have the right to do whatever they want in a land that welcomes infidels!
If they steal nobody should talk, if they slapped a boy in Green he shouldn't complain at all.
The one who allowed them to enter should be questioned.
The End.
Personally, I don't think a 3-month sentence followed by deportation is the order of the day.
Consider the mental trauma that woman would have gone through from;
1) the time she was caught,
2) the loss of her job/income,
3) the interrogation,
4) the medical tests,
5) the court appearances,
etc, until the time & moment the judge handed down the 3-month sentence.
All these factors alone should have constituted and considered sufficient to a 'time-served' ruling in this case. This ruling will only inflame as well as enable the press to have a field day addressing & exploiting the 'Dubai is a city so full of contradiction' label.
If the authorities were smart, they would have used this woman as a PR tool to send out a message that Dubai while to a certain extent can be liberal, there is in-place a zero tolerance policy for immoral violations - similar to what this woman and that dude got themselves into while under the influence.
My wager of a hundred bucks says the appeal will swing in the defendants favor. Unfortunately, the (initial) 3-month ruling has added another dent to Dubai's image on the world map.
kyle, 3 months is nothing, considering sex outside marriage here is a serious crime, and when you get caught in public AND under the influence (another grave crime), unfortunately one has to pay for ones mistake.
The authorities are known to turn a blind eye to things but there is no reason why they should get off lightly.
I don't even see why this is such big news: just coz they're Brits...
On another point, I am surprised to learn sex on the beach in the UK is technically legal (article somewhere on the BBC site).
Another point: getting hammered here without a liquor license is also illegal...they weren't charged for that lol!
Anyway I don't see what the deal is. Ppl are just fascinated by this story coz it involves bonking. Sex sells!
True that i*! :)
I can't think of a Country were drunken sex outdoors is legal
i*maginate:
For you probably, 3 months is nothing, is easier said than done that is unless you were in a situation when that 3 months would mean exactly that; 3 months in Disneyland with the General Population. That's a Southern US term for prison & inmates, in case you were wondering!
Let's not even talk about sex being a serious crime outside marriage here. I've read you write in your comments here about all the (explicit) stuff that goes on undercover here. How do you define that? What is that? Classy Courtship barring sex?
I don't understand what you intend to say with your 'getting hammered here without a liquor license is also illegal'. Since when does one require a license to consume spirits at a Friday brunch? Okay maybe these people over did it a bit at the beach and then got caught - tough luck to them. But no, I don't agree with the 3-month ruling now. I think I've already explained the why part in my initial comment above.
In conclusion, I'd say this is my opinion and I'm entitled to one just like you and everybody else.
Q:Since when does one require a license to consume spirits at a Friday brunch?
A:If you are not residing in the hotel then you do require a license to get smashed.
Anyway, they broke more than one law and IMHO they got off very lightly indeed.
kyle, I don't care to have much of an opinion on this one: I was merely stating the facts. As CG says, yes, the law requires any non-Muslim in Dxb to have a license. I am assuming they didn't have a license and the news doesn't report that they were charged with this offence: surprising.
As for undercover fun behind closed doors (tinted ones, even lol) it does go on - blatant if you go down Jumeira B*ch Road on the weekend. But that's behind closed doors. This was on the beach. Fact: sex outside marriage is a punishable offence!
Generally, when one gets caught for something in Dxb and is found to be breaking other laws, one is in deep shite.
As for the 3 month sentence, taking the above facts into perspective, it's a light one. I am not sure one's mental state is taken into account when the judge sentences.
And lastly, justice is not always done, is it. It's a tough world out there, I won't deny that.
Ignoring the sex part which they apparently didn't have....
3 months of jail for getting drunk (without a license), making out on the beach, assaulting the police officer and calling him names (according to the newspaper)...that's getting off lightly....big time!!!
what trauma are you talking about...she did something wrong, she needs to face the consequences...
Theres plenty of filipino girls in the jails here for up to a year and awaiting deportation for bonking in the car. So why should the brits be treated any different? And why all this sympathy for someone blatantly breaking the law-even if we all can be a bit sceptical about the courts and the police and level of discolsure on most things.
anon above - care to share what happened to the guys? :)
Dubai wants white people so let Dubai enjoy what white people bring to their society.
I just wish that UAE would stop consider themselves part of the Arabic-Islamic nation.
Post a Comment
NOTE: By making a post/comment on this blog you agree that you are solely responsible for its content and that you are up to date on the laws of the country you are posting from and that your post/comment abides by them.
To read the rules click here
If you would like to post content on this blog click here