Court upholds two women’s public affection sentence

Hani M Bathish

• Last Updated: September 01. 2008 1:55AM UAE / August 31. 2008 9:55PM GMT

DUBAI // Two foreign women convicted in May of kissing and cuddling on a public beach had their sentences of one month’s jail and deportation confirmed by the Dubai Court of Appeal yesterday.

The Lebanese woman, 30, and Bulgarian woman, 36, were reported to police by families at Mamzar beach who witnessed their behaviour. They pleaded not guilty in the Dubai Misdemeanours Court to charges of intimate behaviour, kissing, cuddling and sleeping on top of each other.

Kissing and hugging in public, or making rude gestures with parts of the body, are considered serious offences against the country’s Islamic values. The Federal Penal Code defines them as “scandalous public acts” punishable by deportation if the offenders are foreigners.

In a case earlier this year a man who kissed his wife in their car was arrested and tried. They were found not guilty of committing an offence but received a stern warning from the judge not to kiss in public again.

A British man and woman are currently on trial accused of having sexual intercourse in public on a Jumeirah beach while under the influence of alcohol.

Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vince Acors, 34, will next appear before the Dubai Misdemeanours Court on Sept 2.

They could receive a jail sentence of up to six months or a fine or both if convicted and would be subject to deportation.

They have pleaded not guilty to the charges of illicit relations and public indecency. Miss Palmer lost her job as a sales manager for a publishing firm in Dubai after being arrested.

The Court of Appeal Judge Saif al Nasr Sulaiman Mohammed said deportation in cases of public morality was introduced two years ago and has been applied strictly when a charge of committing a scandalous public act has been proved against any foreign national.

“The judge does not have the discretion to waive the deportation order, it applies to all such cases that are proven against foreign nationals,” he said.

hbathish@thenational.ae