Mice in a Maze

So we all thought we had 'Dubai Decency' figured: kissing is illegal, public displays of affection (known here as "PDAs") are illegal and can result in jail and deportation, hand holding is frowned upon but "tolerated" if the couple are married etc etc.  But now the Gulf News reports on a couple who've been acquitted of public indecency and they weren't just holding hands or wearing shorts in public, they were having %& in their car in a suburban street.  The trusty '7 Days' had a field day describing the 'frisky couple' as being caught 'romping' in, wait for it, their Honda Accord. Two door or four door? Thank goodness the couple is young and apparently flexible, anyone else would need a hip replacement after 'romping' in a little Accord.  Aside from having a good lawyer (1)Their car had tinted windows, (2) They'd put an umbrella across the windscreen and most important (3) The 'rompers' were married to each other.
Now if this happened in Auckland, the couple would have been arrested after first being beaten up by other drivers for hogging the parking place. 
As a poster on another board said, the decency laws are so hard to understand that Dubai residents are like "mice in a maze".
Source: Gulf News
Photo: Rubberball Photos
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A court has acquitted a married couple of public indecency after their lawyer argued that their tinted car, in which a policeman caught them making love, was a private place.
The Dubai Appeals Court recently acquitted the Pakistani assistant manager and his wife of committing an indecent act in public.
The Appeals Court overturned the primary judgment of one month's jail followed by deportation after the couple's lawyer Dr Riyadh Al Kabban argued that the policeman could not see them committing an indecent act in public since they were inside their car when he sneaked up on them at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).
According to the chargesheet, prosecutors had charged the husband, 28, and his wife, 24, of public indecency, by having sexual intercourse in their car at JBR's public parking.
"The policeman breached my clients' rights and privacy and he didn't have the right [as a law enforcement officer] to peep inside the car without obtaining a permission from Dubai Public Prosecution. He testified before the Dubai Misdemeanors Court that he could not see the indecent public act because the car was fully tinted and had an umbrella at the windshield… he also claimed that he failed two times to see what was happening inside the car due to the tinting. When he failed to see the car's inside, he knocked at the window and saw the husband naked when the latter opened the window partly," argued Dr Al Kabban.
Charge dropped
Prosecutors dropped the charge of having consensual sex against the couple after they produced their marriage contract. They were only charged with public indecency.
The policeman testified during prosecution questioning that he was standing nine cars away from the defendants' fully-tinted vehicle when he noticed something suspicious inside the vehicle at around 9:00pm. He told prosecutors that he had to peep into the car because the tint and a windshield shade prevented him from seeing inside.
"That behaviour by itself is a breach of human rights and a clear violation of my clients' privacy… it's as if he walked into the couple's bedroom and caught them making love. Law enforcement procedures were carried out unlawfully against my clients. They were illegitimately arrested and without a warrant. According to article 53 of the Criminal Procedures Law, a private car is deemed private property, hence the policeman should have obtained a prosecutors' warrant to search and look into the car… what he did is considered a clear violation of my clients' privacy and rights," argued the advocate.
The lawyer asked the appeals court to cancel the deportation order and acquit the couple of the charges.
The Appeals Court judgment remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within three weeks.
Defence argument
According to the primary judgment sheet, the Misdemeanors Court considered that the couple was caught red-handed committing an indecent act in public. Dr Al Kabban countered that argument before the Appeals Court and based his defence on the fact that the car's full tint and the windshield shade made it a private and not a public place.
"The policeman should have obtained a written prosecutor's warrant to search the car… otherwise this will allow any law enforcement officer to walk into private places without a warrant," argued the lawyer.

Dubai malls join anti-indecency campaign

Further to the publication earlier this year of the Dubai Code of Conduct, the Gulf News in Dubai has given more front page space to informing/warning expats both residents and tourists to dress appropriately in public.
The dress code seems to have become a "hot button" and while residents may read the article, in reality the Gulf News is a regional publication that few tourists will read prior to coming here. If it is considered important to warn tourists to comply, then other methods of spreading the word will need to be employed. It would seem that further information needs to be given to the short stay tourists who are coming here for a holiday looking for nothing more than sun, beach, a desert safari and shopping, as compliance with a moral code will be far from their minds. Possibly a warning should be printed in every tourist brochure where the UAE is featured and an information brochure provided when the tourist visa is issued. It does seem unfair to put the responsibility for enforcing the code onto the security staff at the malls.

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Source: Gulf News
Dubai's shopping malls don't just combine the awesome collections of international brand labels, but go further to enlighten newcomers on Emirati cultural rules and what's the acceptable general behaviour.
The rules are on signs at the main entrances and distributed by security personnel as well.
It includes no smoking in the mall, wearing of respectable clothing and no kissing or public displays of affection, no consumption of alcohol in the mall and few other don'ts.
Sabina Khanvwani, Head of Public Relations and Marketing Department at Burjuman Centre, said despite the signs, there are still visitors who still need to be reminded of what is and what is not acceptable.
"Burjuman has already fixed stickers on the main entrances in order to deliver the message directly to them, some of them adhere and others don't. We cannot enforce them to comply but we keep reminding them that Dubai is part of the UAE and it's a Muslim country with a conservative society and must be respected."
Most expatriates Gulf News spoke to say they didn't do things on purpose or to annoy the Emirati community. They just grew up dressing that way.
Tania N. a 29-year-old Russian businesswoman, said she got confused when a security guard at the Mall of the Emirates handed her a brochure on how to dress appropriately.
"I respect Dubai, its religion, culture and people, I come here frequently for business and pleasure, and I was never asked to cover my shoulders or my knees until recently," she said.
"I used to wear a sleeveless short gown or miniskirt and according to my background it is a decent outfit and doesn't cause any kind of embarrassment. But lately a security approached me and in a polite way handed me a brochure that includes the mall's courtesy policy regarding dress code and general behaviour."
Asked whether she will adhere to the mall's dress code, she said: "I really don't find it necessary, besides I don't have long or covered outfits, and the most importantly I didn't do something bad to Dubai or its people."
Katayoon Tahmoress M, an Iranian writer based in Dubai agrees with Tania.
"I love Dubai and I like its style. But the way I dress is completely a personal matter and I don't allow anybody to educate me on what to wear and what not to wear."
Gabriel and Elena, both Americans, said the visitors and expatriates should've been informed of the dress and behavioural rules before they fly into the country.
"Such instructions should be informed before we enter the country not while we are shopping. Besides the weather in Dubai is truly hot," they said.
Mariam Al Salem and her Emirati companions said visitors and expatriates should tow the line.
"Our rules must be strictly followed," Mariam said.
Khulood Ahmad, a 23-year-old Emirati and a college student said the situation has become uncontrollable.
"Majority of shoppers don't adhere to our style's policy, and we don't think a sticker or leaflet will make them pay attention," he said.
Khalid Al Hammadi and his friends Nawaf and Majed, all of them Emiratis, said an aggresssive media campaign should be launched to deliver the message.
Najla Al Awadi, Federal National Council member, Deputy CEO of Dubai Media Inc and General Manager of Dubai One TV, said awareness of the rules should be done as early as while a visitor is processing his entry visa.
"I don't want to generalise and say that all expats behave in that inappropriate way. However, certainly many expats who come to our country are either not aware of our cultural norms or are just not respectful of them and choose to behave any way they want to.
"I believe what we need is to create awareness among all communities visiting our county. This should be done upon going through the visa process possibly by distributing pamphlets which explain our culture to those receiving a visa into our country.
"Also through media by launching programmes and regular campaigns, we as the UAE will always be welcoming and tolerant society but we will also demand that our culture be respected," she said.
Are you aware of the dress code in Dubai? Do you know who to speak to in order to clarify your doubts?