tourist arrested in mall

Actualyy many of you here are misunderstanding the article - he has not gone to trial yet and the article says that [u'>[b'> "If found guilty, the defendant could be jailed for up to six months and deported." [/b'>[/u'> not that he has/will be jailed - yet edited by Cold on 23/04/2015 edited by Cold on 23/04/2015 As it stands a person detained on any charge pending a court hearing will spend on average 3 months or longer in jail before reaching court for his first hearing, so regardless of guilt or innocence they will be jailed for probably half of any anticipated sentence even if eventually pardoned or found innocent, so even though the paper reports that this person "could do up to 6 months jail", he most certainly is in jail now and probably will have done almost that time when he reaches a judge. This particular incident happened in December 2014 and was heard for the first time on April 21st 2015, when the story broke, he has been in jail for four months since his initial arrest, a ruling will be heard on May 17 which will make him having served almost six months since his arrest until the matter is judged upon no matter what the outcome is against him. http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/courts/tourist-in-court-for-patting-policewoman-s-arm-1.1496156 edited by chezmoi on 24/04/2015 Not any more - there are plans to make a special court just for tourists that reduces their waiting time so they get dealt with more quickly...bit sad that such a thing should be necessary though..

IMHO anyone who gets off a plane blindly drunk and behaving badly deserves some jail time regardless of where they are, it's totally irresponsible and a public nuisance. If you need to spoon feed people before they get on a plane somewhere else in the world then it’s rather a sorry state of affairs. The information is out there for those who are responsible and TBH you could spoon feed it to some and they would still go ahead so what they wanted. For years the Far East has made it very clear what the severe consequences of carrying are and yet still each year people do it. [b'>This is not the UK, so why there is a reference to the laws there is most perculiar.[/b'> Its there because someone asked if "drunkenness was legal in most countries", so I was answering that question! If you had bothered to look before jumping in to criticise you would have seen the context for the reference, additionally the same poster who asked that question also drew a comparison to US laws on the same topic as well which I was furthering with a view of the law in the UK. Are we not allowed to discuss comparative law? The UK and the US are two countries that would fall within the scope of the question as to whether "most countries consider drunkenness legal", if you care to check you will find both US and the UK are countries, and they have laws on the subject. Strange you noticed the reference I made to people arriving drunk, which you refer to in your remarks, yet you cannot find the question in the very same paragraph that prompted my reference to the UK. What is really "peculiar" is your very selective observation. Do try to focus on the context before lashing out with unwarranted criticism. <em>edited by chezmoi on 24/04/2015</em>

IMHO anyone who gets off a plane blindly drunk and behaving badly deserves some jail time regardless of where they are, it's totally irresponsible and a public nuisance. If you need to spoon feed people before they get on a plane somewhere else in the world then it’s rather a sorry state of affairs. The information is out there for those who are responsible and TBH you could spoon feed it to some and they would still go ahead so what they wanted. For years the Far East has made it very clear what the severe consequences of carrying are and yet still each year people do it. This is not the UK, so why there is a reference to the laws there is most perculiar.

I was just wondering because you wrote that they arrive drunk with no idea that it is against the law to be drunk in public. I don't know about other countries, but I know that in the USA, people are often arrested for "being a disorderly person", which usually means public drunkenness. Yes, it varies from country to country. In the UK for example it is an offence of public disorder to be severely drunk in pubic, that may result in a fine and possibly a night in a cell or assistance back home, but not a crime that will result in instant jail pending trial, unless its complicated by GBH for eg. [i'>The police will only get involved if the person is so drunk they are unable to act in a reasonable manner, such as passing out on the street. In that case typically the police will, depending on the circumstances, help the intoxicated person on their way or place the person in a police station cell until sober. Once fit to be dealt with the detained person will normally either be cautioned, be issued with a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND - £80 fine in ticket form) or bailed to appear at the local court. The court in turn may issue a fine (up to level 1 or level 3 on the standard scale depending on the offence charged).[/i'> [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_intoxication'>link[/url'> <em>edited by chezmoi on 24/04/2015</em>

Whilst I agree with you 100% chezmoi, regarding information being given etc. People also need to take responsibility to research where they are going and to know the do's and don'ts - that should be standard practise for every traveller going anywhere. There's also a lot of misconception and lack of awareness about the UAE, you only have to read comments in some papers, to see that people clump it in with other ME countries and think that beheadings, stonings go on here, women are forced to be covered etc. So on the one side you have the UAE advertised as this glitzy and glamorous touritst destination, on the other people think it's Saudi. Go figure.

Anyway, people need to be responsible for their actions. Otherwise, they will just end up the loser. A tourist should know what kind of place they are traveling to. If they don't know that, tough. No one will care about you when things go wrong.

I was just wondering because you wrote that they arrive drunk with no idea that it is against the law to be drunk in public. I don't know about other countries, but I know that in the USA, people are often arrested for "being a disorderly person", which usually means public drunkenness.

The courts should have a quick judicial process for tourists over something very minor like this matter. They've actually just announced, that the government are doing exactly that. Having a spsciel court to deal with tourists quickly, who find themselves in trouble. That's a good thing. That is a good thing, but to avoid tourists ending up in court at all a bit more public information, more accurate advertising and advance warning of the rules to visitors on arrival could likely help avoid many cases in the first place. Tourists arrive completely oblivious to the rules, I have been in arrivals waiting for my luggage and seen tourists who had clearly had too much to drink on the plane stumbling around the luggage carousels drawing attention to themselves with loud behavior, I would suppose they had no idea it is against the law to be drunk in public places rather than deliberately flouting it, why did they not know that, the airlines plied them with as much booze as they wanted but failed to mention that they could be arrested if found under the influence in the street. That, and similar little bits of information could make a huge difference in avoiding the sorts of mistakes visitors inadvertently make. Its quite beyond me why there has not been an initiative in that direction. edited by chezmoi on 24/04/2015 Is public drunkenness legal in most countries? Its the severity of the repercussions that need to be better advertised not the letter of the law.

The courts should have a quick judicial process for tourists over something very minor like this matter. They've actually just announced, that the government are doing exactly that. Having a spsciel court to deal with tourists quickly, who find themselves in trouble. That's a good thing. That is a good thing, but to avoid tourists ending up in court at all a bit more public information, more accurate advertising and advance warning of the rules to visitors on arrival could likely help avoid many cases in the first place. Tourists arrive completely oblivious to the rules, I have been in arrivals waiting for my luggage and seen tourists who had clearly had too much to drink on the plane stumbling around the luggage carousels drawing attention to themselves with loud behavior, I would suppose they had no idea it is against the law to be drunk in public places rather than deliberately flouting it, why did they not know that, the airlines plied them with as much booze as they wanted but failed to mention that they could be arrested if found under the influence in the street. That, and similar little bits of information could make a huge difference in avoiding the sorts of mistakes visitors inadvertently make. Its quite beyond me why there has not been an initiative in that direction. edited by chezmoi on 24/04/2015 Is public drunkenness legal in most countries?

In the cold light of day - what would the result have been had a lady tapped a man on the shoulder?! Appreciate that we are in an Arab country but the difference is terms of repercussions should not be so polarised! This does not put the UAE in a good light and, in an age where the BBC have provided very positive coverage over women in the UAE (Is Dubai the best place for women in the Middle East?), this kind of coverage really does run the risk of shifting perception back decades. http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20150422-which-women-get-ahead-in-dubai I suspect that the story has somewhat been sensationalised (hence look at the debate it has caused here) - I think it is important that the authorities exercise an element of common sense on this case for the country, whilst also ensuring that there is some redress for the girl who felt violated.

Actualyy many of you here are misunderstanding the article - he has not gone to trial yet and the article says that [u'>[b'> "If found guilty, the defendant could be jailed for up to six months and deported." [/b'>[/u'> not that he has/will be jailed - yet edited by Cold on 23/04/2015 edited by Cold on 23/04/2015 As it stands a person detained on any charge pending a court hearing will spend on average 3 months or longer in jail before reaching court for his first hearing, so regardless of guilt or innocence they will be jailed for probably half of any anticipated sentence even if eventually pardoned or found innocent, so even though the paper reports that this person "could do up to 6 months jail", he most certainly is in jail now and probably will have done almost that time when he reaches a judge. This particular incident happened in December 2014 and was heard for the first time on April 21st 2015, when the story broke, he has been in jail for four months since his initial arrest, a ruling will be heard on May 17 which will make him having served almost six months since his arrest until the matter is judged upon no matter what the outcome is against him. http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/courts/tourist-in-court-for-patting-policewoman-s-arm-1.1496156 <em>edited by chezmoi on 24/04/2015</em>

How do you attract someone's attention if you don't speak the same language ? Oh yes, a tap on the shoulder.... You NEVER EVER touch a person in uniform EVER like this. Had he been in certain other countries he may have had his head blown off by a fast reaction or thrown on the ground. There is no justification for any adult without special needs tapping a police officer on the shoulder, it's stupidity at best. To then become difficult when dealing with officials is just dumb. I can’t see what the fuss is about, you assault an officer of the law you will get a stiff penalty regardless of where ever you are in the world. So only people with special needs or learning difficulties are 'stupid' enough to tap someone's shoulder who's in uniform? Right Really that is a pathetic response, does it really need to be explained that there may be some with disabilities, issues who may need to communicate in other ways and therefore may use touch, therefore a blanket [i'>any adult [/i'>was not used allowing for exception and provision. What a seriously sad interpretation, i would never have thought anyone could have considered anyone with LD stupid like just posted or interpreted such a statement as such. Your attitude is extremely generalised and very assumptive if you feel you have the right to state that only those with special needs are 'stupid' enough to touch a police officer. [i'>Because that's exactly how your response sounds.[/i'> I won't apologise for the way I read your comment. I took this very personally. Perhaps next time you shouldn't make such a very opinionated fact. Or you could at least explain your point a lot better in future. :cool:

The courts should have a quick judicial process for tourists over something very minor like this matter. They've actually just announced, that the government are doing exactly that. Having a spsciel court to deal with tourists quickly, who find themselves in trouble. That's a good thing. That is a good thing, but to avoid tourists ending up in court at all a bit more public information, more accurate advertising and advance warning of the rules to visitors on arrival could likely help avoid many cases in the first place. Tourists arrive completely oblivious to the rules, I have been in arrivals waiting for my luggage and seen tourists who had clearly had too much to drink on the plane stumbling around the luggage carousels drawing attention to themselves with loud behavior, I would suppose they had no idea it is against the law to be drunk in public places rather than deliberately flouting it, why did they not know that, the airlines plied them with as much booze as they wanted but failed to mention that they could be arrested if found under the influence in the street. That, and similar little bits of information could make a huge difference in avoiding the sorts of mistakes visitors inadvertently make. Its quite beyond me why there has not been an initiative in that direction. <em>edited by chezmoi on 24/04/2015</em>

Lots of thumbs up and down in this thread!

The courts should have a quick judicial process for tourists over something very minor like this matter. They've actually just announced, that the government are doing exactly that. Having a spsciel court to deal with tourists quickly, who find themselves in trouble. That's a good thing.

How do you attract someone's attention if you don't speak the same language ? Oh yes, a tap on the shoulder.... You NEVER EVER touch a person in uniform EVER like this. Had he been in certain other countries he may have had his head blown off by a fast reaction or thrown on the ground. There is no justification for any adult without special needs tapping a police officer on the shoulder, it's stupidity at best. To then become difficult when dealing with officials is just dumb. I can’t see what the fuss is about, you assault an officer of the law you will get a stiff penalty regardless of where ever you are in the world. So only people with special needs or learning difficulties are 'stupid' enough to tap someone's shoulder who's in uniform? Right Really that is a pathetic response, does it really need to be explained that there may be some with disabilities, issues who may need to communicate in other ways and therefore may use touch, therefore a blanket [i'>any adult [/i'>was not used allowing for exception and provision. What a seriously sad interpretation, i would never have thought anyone could have considered anyone with LD stupid like just posted or interpreted such a statement as such.

How do you attract someone's attention if you don't speak the same language ? Oh yes, a tap on the shoulder.... You NEVER EVER touch a person in uniform EVER like this. Had he been in certain other countries he may have had his head blown off by a fast reaction or thrown on the ground. There is no justification for any adult without special needs tapping a police officer on the shoulder, it's stupidity at best. To then become difficult when dealing with officials is just dumb. I can’t see what the fuss is about, you assault an officer of the law you will get a stiff penalty regardless of where ever you are in the world. So only people with special needs or learning difficulties are 'stupid' enough to tap someone's shoulder who's in uniform? Right

How do you attract someone's attention if you don't speak the same language ? Oh yes, a tap on the shoulder.... You NEVER EVER touch a person in uniform EVER like this. Had he been in certain other countries he may have had his head blown off by a fast reaction or thrown on the ground. There is no justification for any adult without special needs tapping a police officer on the shoulder, it's stupidity at best. To then become difficult when dealing with officials is just dumb. I can’t see what the fuss is about, you assault an officer of the law you will get a stiff penalty regardless of where ever you are in the world.

How do you attract someone's attention if you don't speak the same language ? Oh yes, a tap on the shoulder....

Actualyy many of you here are misunderstanding the article - he has not gone to trial yet and the article says that [u'>[b'> "If found guilty, the defendant could be jailed for up to six months and deported." [/b'>[/u'> not that he has/will be jailed - yet edited by Cold on 23/04/2015 <em>edited by Cold on 23/04/2015</em>

There are people who are, by nature, very touchy feeling, whose brains don't tell them that it's not polite or appropriate to touch strangers. Sometimes cultural norms fuel this symptom, other times it's just a biological thing. I'm sure we've all met people at one point or another whose first instinct was to immediately touch you, and we didn't like it! Regardless of who is at fault here, the courts should have a quick judicial process for tourists over something very minor like this matter. Six months in jail? The whole thing should have been settled in a few days and the poor man deported as soon as possible, rather than letting this matter blow up into yet another international scandal for Dubai. It's not the arrest for touching a policewoman that's attracting the international attention, it's the six month jail time.

Hi to you all, We ask that you please refrain from speculation when discussing this topic on the forum. Thank you in advance, EW Admin

They need to go by the cc tv footage with regards to the accusations, then there should not be any doubt of what exactly he did. If a tap on the arm is molestation then that's another law tourists need to be aware of too. This all boils down to the way Dubai is projected as a tourist destination by holiday companies and airlines., when I mention Dubai to people back home all without exception seem to thinks its the world's ultimate playground, hardly surprising when the ads fails to warn arriving passengers of the very strict moral codes that exist in the country. This failure could be easily resolved by simple announcement on arriving flights outlining the sorts of behavior that would lead to visitors falling foul of the social laws and norms in the UAE. But as long as they allow Dubai to be advertised the way it is and tourists are left in the dark incidents of all kinds are going to repeat with frequency the more tourism increases. Just Google "holidays in Dubai" and see the images that come up, scantily dressed women in bikinis, celebs frolicking on beaches, men and women freely mixing in bars, nightclubs, spas, massages etc. Even a well known Airline has a cover photo of couple snuggling together in a gondola. No wonder tourists are mislead into thinking Dubai is the Las Vegas of the Middle East. They need to sort out the advertising before sorting out the tourists, how can they be expected to know the glitzy ads are misleading and lack vital information that can adversely impact their stay, they need to be advised of the social norms of the local people, that it is an Islamic country with enforceable rules of etiquette, dress, personal conduct and restrictions of drinking, cohabiting and even gesturing and speaking. I would have thought it a simple and easy matter to include this advice on flights to Dubai in pre-landing announcements, it could save a lot of people from unintentional offence and unfortunate consequences.

The article says that the police officer was already talking to a group of people when the guy tapped her on the shoulder. If he had not been so rude as to interrupt, and waited until she was free to deal with him then whole situation would probably not have escalated. 6 months seems a bit harsh but being polite and respectful should be the social norm in all cultures, especially to police officers. Only people present at the time actually know how obnoxious the tourist was, luckily cctv will demonstrate this to the court. I expect he won't go around interrupting people in future.

Well no surprise, the international, press has picked it up and the Dubai/UAE bashing is in full swing in their comments sections. And assaulting a police officer, is what happened to my cousin and ended his career! The whole thing is blown out of proportion.

Whilst I agree the tourist went overboard, there are other factors - language barrier etc. He was charged with assault and molestation - er someone needs to look up the definition of those, because he did neither. A fine and warning would have done. 6 months in jail is overkill. Gives a really bad impression of the UAE. Wait till this gets picked up. He shoved the male police officer that came over to help his colleague and then resisted arrest - wouldn't this be classed as assaulting a police officer in most countries? That would yes. But call me a cynic, but I don't believe half the details of these stories and remember we're only getting one side.

Whilst I agree the tourist went overboard, there are other factors - language barrier etc. He was charged with assault and molestation - er someone needs to look up the definition of those, because he did neither. A fine and warning would have done. 6 months in jail is overkill. Gives a really bad impression of the UAE. Wait till this gets picked up. He shoved the male police officer that came over to help his colleague and then resisted arrest - wouldn't this be classed as assaulting a police officer in most countries?