DUBAI // Two beauticians were arrested after sharing a birthday kiss, a court heard today.
A colleague spotted the pair kissing at the beauty parlour where they worked and informed the management, who dismissed them and reported them to police.
Prosecutors told the Misdemeanours Court that on January 7 at about 1.30pm the hair stylist MK, 27, from Jordan was seen kissing his colleague OK, also 27, from Moldova, in the parlour's corridor.
"I saw them hugging and kissing each other on the lips not as they claimed on the cheek," testified their colleague MH, 40, from Jordan, who informed management.
He said that both the workers had previously been warned about committing such acts and said the pair were in love and planning to get married.
The two were dismissed from work that day and police arrested them the next morning.
Another colleague, NL, a Filipino, said he had seen the couple kissing and hugging on more than three occasions during the five months they had worked at the parlour.
"I know that they were having an affair for nearly a month," said the colleague.
The pair were charged with public indecency and intimacy outside marriage, but claimed they were merely sharing a birthday kiss.
"It was her birthday and when I arrived at the beauty centre and saw her, I kissed her on the cheek and wished her a happy birthday," said the hair stylist.
He said the case was malicious, claiming he had filed a labour complaint against the centre for unpaid salary.
The case was adjourned to May 5.
[ salamir@thenational.ae ]
