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A British holidaymaker has been charged with indecency in Dubai after walking through the world's largest shopping centre in a bikini.
The woman was buying clothes and gifts in the Dubai Mall, fully dressed but in a low-cut top, when she was accosted by an Arabic woman and criticised for wearing 'revealing clothing'.
The pair then became embroiled in a heated row in front of hundreds of bemused shoppers.
Incensed by the Arabic woman's comments, the British woman told her to 'mind her own business' before stripping out of her clothes and 'taunting' the locals by walking around in only her bikini, it is alleged.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0vhrkiLrT


Arguing with a local woman about dress.....yeah, maybe understandable, if foolish.

Stripping off to your Bikini in Dubai Mall and parading around to stir up locals? Not the wisest thing in the world, is it?

Unfortunately in this instance, you have to say she will deserve everything that happens to her.....

And it just HAD to be a Brit, didn't it? When will we learn...

BlueOrb wrote:just HAD to be a Brit, didn't it?

LOL !

IMO both parties at fault. The Arab woman had no right to get into her face about it and BTW what is her problem ?. And the brit very well knew the laws and choose to disobey them. You have to be blind not to see the signs regarding this there.

Do you think the cctv footage will make it's way onto Youtube..

(It will be a great one for captions. I can imagine one of them saying 'Do I look like I'm bothered..?' )

The mind boggles at what the 'taunting' entailed - was it just walking around, or more than that?

Cheers,
Shafique

She gets what she deserves. Where does she think she is? Bluewater?

shafique wrote:Do you think the cctv footage will make it's way onto Youtube..

(It will be a great one for captions. I can imagine one of them saying 'Do I look like I'm bothered..?' )

The mind boggles at what the 'taunting' entailed - was it just walking around, or more than that?

Cheers,
Shafique

Shaf, you have such a low opinion of british women, let your imagination run free.

^That's the problem, being British I shudder to think what the possibilities are if I did let my imagination run free!

Don't get me started on Chavs - but that is a good starting assumption here! But hey, as some might say - if there no pics - it never happened!

But anyway, it appears that the consulate stepped in and the charges have been dropped.

As an aside, shopping in your underwear or swimwear isn't really socially acceptable in the UK either, a general point that was well made in another thread:

Flying Dutchman wrote:It is not socially accepted in Western societies to do shopping in the main shopping street with a bare beel belly and only a speedo. Those people are frowned upon and I wouldn't be surprised the police urges them to dress more decent.

Cheers,
Shafique

Its a shame the people who managed to get pictures of the leak in the fish tank (that also didn't happen) were not around when you most needed them!

Maybe the Arabic woman had a point if the Brit was a bloater or a babe...



Knight

shafique wrote:But anyway, it appears that the consulate stepped in and the charges have been dropped.

This seems very very strange. The consulate have chosen to interfere in a open and shut case with video evidence and multiple witnesses showing that she was guilty as charged.
The only conclusion I can come to is that the purpose of the consulate is to make the British look like a bunch of idiots.
She must not have been a chav after all.
Just some big shot beach with a shat load of wusta. Diplomatic Immunity.

Liberals v/s Conservates always a classic!!

To answer a poster's question; bloater or babe?? Well her confidence says it all man, she was a babe with one helluva attitude to boot. And well if she had the 'wasta' to bail herself out then it does seem as though she'd be making some sort of political statement.... you know the PETA types!!! (they were reason I hit puberty extra early )

Curiously, AP reports that both women were taken to the police station - not something that was highlighted in the Daily Mail etc:

Bikini-clad Briton briefly detained in Dubai mall
By MICHAEL CASEY (AP) – 4 hours ago
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A British woman was briefly detained after stripping down to a bikini and walking in her beach wear through a five-star mall in Dubai, a police official in the Gulf emirate said Thursday.

According to the official, the British woman was shopping in the mall Wednesday, when a conservatively dressed Emirati woman came up to her and criticized her for wearing a low-cut top.

The two woman started arguing, then the Briton stripped down to her bikini and walked away like that through the mall, popular for its many luxury shops.

The mall, one of the world's largest, has signs asking shoppers to dress modestly, although Westerners in short skirts and revealing blouses routinely ignore the advisories.

The mall security subsequently detained both women and took them to a police station for questioning.

They were released later in the day, after the Emirati woman lodged a complaint for public indecency against the Briton, said the police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The British woman's name was not released.

British Embassy spokesman Simon Goldsmith said embassy officials were aware of the incident and had offered consular assistance to the woman.
..

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... QD9HDAOAG0

Vs what the Daily Mail said on this point:

The mall's security team then intervened and called the police, who arrested the British holidaymaker.
..
[police said]'We ended up questioning both women after receiving a call from the mall security staff.'

Bikini-gate - we need to know the truth!

shafique wrote:Curiously, AP reports that both women were taken to the police station - not something that was highlighted in the Daily Mail etc:

That's a curious point to make. I don't even know what it is .

The Daily Mail quoted a police officer saying both women were questioned. AP didn't quote anyone and appear to have just rewritten the Daily Mail story, adding a bit about the British Embassy.

What's disappointing is that reporters are linking stupidity (sex on the beach, bikini sprinters in shopping malls) with bad luck (jail for a kiss at a restaurant) and saying it's all a reflection of Big Bad Dubai cracking down on Westerners and it's not fair. In some cases it is, in some cases it isn't. Still, if a lack of objectivity sells more papers, then I suppose it's understandable.

benwj wrote:

shafique wrote:But anyway, it appears that the consulate stepped in and the charges have been dropped.

This seems very very strange. The consulate have chosen to interfere in a open and shut case with video evidence and multiple witnesses showing that she was guilty as charged.
The only conclusion I can come to is that the purpose of the consulate is to make the British look like a bunch of idiots.
She must not have been a chav after all.
Just some big shot beach with a shat load of wusta. Diplomatic Immunity.

She was in a shopping trolley driving on two wheels after a football match. Anyway, she knew what she was doing and wasn't endangering anyone's life...

... wait, I think I've got my topics mixed up? What video ?

bonk wrote:She was in a shopping trolley driving on two wheels after a football match. Anyway, she knew what she was doing and wasn't endangering anyone's life...

... wait, I think I've got my topics mixed up? What video ?

unfortunately she was indecent whilst in a shopping trolley driving on two wheels after a football match... so she's gone on at least one of the charge.
how many people wear bikini undergarments to the mall anyway?
the daily mail probably had a reporter on site ready to go.

Bonk - the difference between the Daily Mail and AP report by Casey, is a matter of timing and content.

The DM says the 'lady' was 'still being questioned last night' - and did not report her release. Therefore it was probably written before her release??

Whereas the AP report was written after both ladies were questioned and both were released. The AP headline is less sensational - 'briefly detained'.

But aren't we making a pair of mountains out of a pair of molehills?? Or are we?

Cheers,
Shafique

bonk wrote:
What's disappointing is that reporters are linking stupidity (sex on the beach, bikini sprinters in shopping malls) with bad luck (jail for a kiss at a restaurant) and saying it's all a reflection of Big Bad Dubai cracking down on Westerners and it's not fair. In some cases it is, in some cases it isn't. Still, if a lack of objectivity sells more papers, then I suppose it's understandable.

But anyway, it appears that the consulate stepped in and the charges have been dropped.

This seems very very strange. The consulate have chosen to interfere in a open and shut case with video evidence and multiple witnesses showing that she was guilty as charged.
The only conclusion I can come to is that the purpose of the consulate is to make the British look like a bunch of idiots.
She must not have been a chav after all.
Just some big shot beach with a shat load of wusta. Diplomatic Immunity.[/quote]
She was in a shopping trolley driving on two wheels after a football match. Anyway, she knew what she was doing and wasn't endangering anyone's life...benjw
[/quote]




The only reason why it breaks the news is because of the Dubai misrepresentation. If a woman in bikini gets arrested in Saudi or Iran, who cares everybody knows these countries live in the 7th century, they dont pretend otherwise. Dubai pretends to be a modern and open society , when it is absolutely not, Dubai is a Saudi in disguise still in the 7 th century. So when events like that happen, every reporter like to report them as a reminder. The UK consulate has nothing to do with her release, since when Dubai takes order from foreign countries? it is either PR from Dubai to limit the disaster going on now, or the woman was mentally impaired.
If it was up to Sage, he would advocate death by stoning.

The woman was without a doubt in the wrong and it was a stupid thing to do, she would most probably have got into trouble in most countries of the world for such behavior.

It is interesting to note that she was not charged by the police.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime ... y-1.664553

Instead of posting signs with 25 DON'T's at the malls, why dont they put only one sign at the airport: NO VISIT that way nobody will get in trouble.
Go to Florida, go to the French Riviera, why bother going to this sandpit
How can a city pretend to be cosmopolitan and impose at the same time a dress code.
How come arab women protest for the right to wear a burka head to toe in our countries, but object when western women want to dress like in their countries.
Anyways, I am glad that for once the Brit woman won, the toetoheadburka had no rights to address her, she protested and had the courage to strip to her bikini, in the face of everybody, and she won.

I certainly would have taken exception to a local getting in my face. What did it have to do with her??
The Brit woman made her point by stripping to her bikini. I applaud her for standing up to this person.
I also think that it is fair to enforce decency laws but that is not up to public to enforce. If these laws are going to exist lets have people on the doors at malls turning people away who are inappropriately dressed.

Interestingly: A few days ago I saw a guy in the metro, in national dress smoking a cigarette. The "police" were trying to get him to put it out without success.

They would have probably batton charged a westerner....double standards as ever

damn I missed the strip show

lol when is it happening again?? Any brits coming to dubai please let us know well in advance and let us know where you will be staying, so we can watch the show

smoggie wrote:I certainly would have taken exception to a local getting in my face. What did it have to do with her??
The Brit woman made her point by stripping to her bikini. I applaud her for standing up to this person.
I also think that it is fair to enforce decency laws but that is not up to public to enforce. If these laws are going to exist lets have people on the doors at malls turning people away who are inappropriately dressed.

Interestingly: A few days ago I saw a guy in the metro, in national dress smoking a cigarette. The "police" were trying to get him to put it out without success.

They would have probably batton charged a westerner....double standards as ever

Best comment so far

For 1 group of people, if they dont obey rules they will be confronted

Second group will do that they want and occasionally get "offended" if asked to follow rules.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3084106/Brit-mum-Tessa-Meager-arrested-in-Dubai-strip-row.html

A SHAKEN British mum told yesterday how she was arrested in Dubai after a veiled Muslim woman accused her of STRIPPING in a shopping mall.

Tessa Meager, 28, was wearing a kaftan and white shorts as she shopped with daughter Helen, ten.
But the local woman stopped her, pointed to her clothes, began screaming "Respect!" and called security staff.

The distraught mum - on holiday with Helen - was then arrested by police in front of the bewildered girl. And she was subjected to a three-day ordeal during which she learned the woman claimed she had stripped naked in the plush Dubai Mall.

Mature law student Tessa was charged with "outraging public decency" following a police interrogation she did not understand. She was finally brought before a prosecutor on Wednesday for another hour-long grilling conducted entirely in Arabic.

But the charge was dropped when CCTV pictures from the mall exposed the Arab woman's claims as a pack of lies.

Tessa, of Morden, South London, said: "This woman took exception to me and I have no idea why. She started shouting at me. She was pointing at my clothes screaming, 'Respect!'"

"I tried to explain I had just been swimming. I showed her the top of the bikini I had on under my kaftan but this seemed to annoy her even more. She said I was disrespecting her faith."

"I don't know why I was targeted. About 95 per cent of the people in the mall were wearing less than me.
"I'm amazed she was believed by the police.
"She told them I took everything off and was standing in the mall with no clothes on."

Tessa contacted British consular staff in the super-strict emirate, but claimed they were "useless".
She said they refused her a translator and advised her just to "beg forgiveness" from police.
The Foreign Office last night denied shunning her.
A spokesman said: "We have offered consular assistance throughout."
----

I am pretty sure this arab woman had already filed a claim for damages pending the result of the court case, in which the Brit would have been found guilty.

Under local law and in Sharia Law if you make a false claim and are shown to have made a false claim the full force of the law is supposed to be focused on you instead (!!!)

Anyone think that is going to happen ? Please have 'RESPECT' for your guests

Couldn't agree with smogs and rover more. Wonder if that article is true. Could be one of the reason she was let go. Respect my @ss. If she has such a problem she shouldn't leave her house in the first place.

Wow - I was joking when I said 'if there are no pics, it didn't happen' - but there you go, there were no pics because it didn't actually happen (the stripping and taunting of locals!)

So, two women get into a fight, Mall security call police, police question both, both released. I guess it is the 'local' who has the wasta in all this - she shouldn't be able to get away with making a false report!

Cheers,
Shafique

There are lessons / a moral to be taken from this and the "K1ssing Couple" case

(1) If a lokal takes a dislike to you and choses to make a complaint to the Police, their word will be taken over yours

(2) Unless you can produce or get access to incontrovertible evidence such as video tape, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law

(3) Your embassy will be as much use as a wet tissue

(4) and finally as has been said may times on DF and other places - in Dubai you are considered Guilty until proven Guilty


Quite a marketing ploy for the "Come to Dubai on Holiday" mob

Caveat Emptor

Wow, I'm sitting here appreciating that I was never arrested for anything in Dubai.

I just want out !

We all knew women could get arrested for wearing a bikini, now we know they can be arrested even if they don't.
Anyone proud to live in Dubai ? Anyone to recommend visiting Dubai?
Please where are the voices who boasted about Dubai before so we can have exciting posts

smoggie wrote:I certainly would have taken exception to a local getting in my face. What did it have to do with her??
The Brit woman made her point by stripping to her bikini. I applaud her for standing up to this person.
I also think that it is fair to enforce decency laws but that is not up to public to enforce. If these laws are going to exist lets have people on the doors at malls turning people away who are inappropriately dressed.

I would rather have a local ask me to cover up instead of going directly to the police.
Posting guards at the entrance would prevent this from happening, but it shouldn't be necessary. In nanny state UK maybe, but I don't want to see Dubai go down that road. The guidelines are already there on the glass doors for everyone to see.
Now that the full story has come out it seems like there was simply a difference in opinion on what was considered as 'naked'.
I don't think that wearing a kaftan over a bikini is a good look at a mall. Not the kaftans I've seen anyway. Most are semi translucent.
Technially she was breaking the law, although it is good to see that the judge employed some leniency and decided that the law need not be enforced in this case.

benwj wrote:Now that the full story has come out it seems like there was simply a difference in opinion on what was considered as 'naked'.
I don't think that wearing a kaftan over a bikini is a good look at a mall. Not the kaftans I've seen anyway. Most are semi translucent.
Technially she was breaking the law, although it is good to see that the judge employed some leniency and decided that the law need not be enforced in this case.

Perhaps its a language problem ...

She was not naked - nor was she wearing a sheer kaftan

She was not breaking the law, and was subjected to an unfair and unfounded accusation by a nutter.

(Technically), it never got to a judge, it got as far as the Dubai Public Prosecution who, when shown the video tape, realised that it was, as we would call it, a lie.

Sorry, Benwj, sometimes a situation is just what it is, and all "spin" aside should be judged for what it is, yet another nail in the coffin of tourism in Dubai !

viking-warrior wrote:Perhaps its a language problem ...

She was not naked - nor was she wearing a sheer kaftan

She was not breaking the law, and was subjected to an unfair and unfounded accusation by a nutter.

(Technically), it never got to a judge, it got as far as the Dubai Public Prosecution who, when shown the video tape, realised that it was, as we would call it, a lie.

Sorry, Benwj, sometimes a situation is just what it is, and all "spin" aside should be judged for what it is, yet another nail in the coffin of tourism in Dubai !

Please tell me how you know that it wasn't a shear kaftan. I obviously don't have enough information.
I am only going on what the British lady told the police.
The fact that the she needed to point out that she was wearing a bikini underneath the kaftan indicates to me it was a sheer kaftan. Her bikini was the focus of her defence.
If you expose your shoulders (albeit through a kaftan) then yes, technically you are dressed indecently.
I think that she was lucky to be let off by the Dubai Public Prosecution. According to her it took 3 days.
What is so bad about them letting someone off without charge anyway?
The spin doctors are just peeved that the nail isn't bigger had she been charged.

Smoke in no smoking areas, break queues, park in handicapped spots, every group has members who do it. But members of only 1 or 2 groups shout or confront when their mistakes are pointed out, respect goes down the drain then.....
I was pushed from a queue with the guy saying "yallah, move". Thats all, if I said anything more, I would probably have been accused falsely of something i didnt do.
2 men catching pigeons and twisting their necks; when a guy asked them, the 2 offenders yelled at him and "got angry", how dare some mortal has the audacity to point out their mistakes.


To many people, respect is a 1 way street.

Fortunately the majority of our hosts are not like that, respect for many of them is a 2 way street.