Expat couple cleared of performing sex act in lift in Dubai

Two Lebanese expatriates have been cleared by a Dubai court of the charges of having sex out of wedlock and doing an indecent act in public.
Prosecutors accused a 32-year-old sales manager and 29-year-old IT programmer of having illicit sex, committing an indecent act in public, and consuming alcohol without a permit.
They were accused of kissing and hugging each other in public. The man was also accused of exposing himself in public and having his accomplice perform a sex act on him inside a building's lift, which was - according to public prosecution records - caught on surveillance cameras. The pair was then under the influence of alcohol.
The duo, when brought before the Court of Misdemeanours, claimed they are married. They requested to be granted some time to present their marriage contract, after it is attested at the Dubai Shariah Court.
The case dates back to December 14 last year, when the two expats were spotted behaving indecently in public by a Pakistani security guard of a building in Al Jaddaf area, where the male defendant stayed.
Defence lawyer Hani Hammouda from Kefah Al Zaabi Firm for Advocacy and Legal Consultancy argued that "his clients had been married since September 2017 but kept their marriage a secret for personal reasons". He also shed doubt on "the legality of the confessions extracted" by the police interrogator. "My clients signed papers without reading them. The woman was also made to believe there was a video of them.
"There is no evidence of any criminal offence herein. The alleged relevant footage was not included in the case file and if it had been, the two persons in it had not been matched with my clients," Hammouda contended.
As per prosecution records, during the investigation, both the accused confessed to the charges.  A CCTV footage that reportedly captured the incident around 10.30pm was used by the investigators. The couple was detained on December 29 last year.
The acquittal verdict has been appealed by the public prosecution.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai