No fine for wife who shared husband’s SMS, but probe of his affair in UAE ordered

Ras Al Khaimah - The court ruled that the possibility of an illicit out-of-wedlock affair must be investigated.

The appeal court in Ras Al Khaimah has scrapped the Dh3,000 fine levied on an Arab woman for copying and sharing text messages from her husband’s phone. Instead, a probe of the man’s “possible love affair” was ordered.
In the previous ruling, the wife was also asked to pay Dh50 for charges, Dh100 for advocacy costs, and other fees associated with the civil case.
The Ras Al Khaimah Misdemeanour Court of Appeal, however, dismissed the penalty and ordered the public prosecution to interrogate the husband and the woman he was reportedly chatting with on social media.
The court ruled that the possibility of an illicit out-of-wedlock affair must be investigated.  
It was a case that started when the husband filed a complaint against his wife, accusing her of invading his privacy and sharing text messages from his phone without his consent.
The wife admitted to the crime at the Ras Al Khaimah Misdemeanour Court, but she insisted that she did it because she wanted to prove that her husband was cheating on her.
The defence lawyer told the court that the husband had once handed his phone to his wife and asked her to check it, but she refused to do it to avoid a fight. 
However, she later noticed that her husband was receiving too many phone calls and texts that she found it necessary to check his phone.
“She was shocked and infuriated when she saw the indecent texts and emojis sent to her husband by an unidentified woman who told him that she ‘loved’ him,” the lawyer said.
The defence lawyer said that for over nine years, the woman had tried hard to live a peaceful married life, but her husband “misled, cheated and set her up to be involved in this crime, though she did not mean to harm him or anyone else”.
He added that his client refused to divulge any of her marital issues even during the five counselling sessions held in court to settle the litigation.
“The husband refused any settlement so she had to post the text messages she copied from his phone and attached them to the lawsuit file.”
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Ras Al Khaimah