No Jail Time for Two Brits for "Sex on the Beach" in Dubai

Filed in archive News on November 26, 2008

No matter how tolerant and friendly toward tourists the place may seem, it's not a good idea to drink and make out in public in most Muslim countries. Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vince Acors, 34, found that out the hard way when they were arrested in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, in July.

The Agence France Press is reporting that the couple have avoided jail time in Dubai after an appeals court there overturned their three month sentence for having sex outside of marriage in Dubai. They were each still fined 1,000 Dirhams (about £176, or $270).

According to the AFT, Palmer and Acors denied charges of having sex in public and public indecency, but admitted to being under the influence of alcohol when they were caught on Dubai's Jumeirah public beach in July after meeting at a champagne brunch in one of the city's glitzy five-star hotels.

So if you go to Dubai and you meet someone at a hotel, take it to your room - not to the beach...