Manama: A Bahrain woman was jailed for 20 days after she kissed a Bahraini man in public and got into an argument with the police.

The couple was caught by a police patrol as they were getting intimate inside a car, according to the court papers. However, when the police wanted to arrest them for "indecent behaviour in public", the woman shouted at one of the officers, saying that what she and the man were doing was "none of their business".

She was eventually arrested and the Lower Criminal Court convicted her of public indecency and insulting a policeman carrying out his duties. The Bahraini man is being tried separately.

Light display of affection, such as holding hands and accolades, is allowed in liberal Bahrain, but kissing in public is outlawed and is considered indecent behaviour.

In December 2005, a Bahraini female student was sentenced to three months in prison for having sex with her boyfriend in a car park.

Challenging the legal action against her, the girl said that her behaviour was a matter of personal rights.

"What my friend and I were doing is part of our individual freedom. This is a democratic and free country," the university student said. However, the judge sentencing her told her that "laws in Bahrain were different from those in other countries".