Dubai: A drunk air traveller, who exposed his private parts before a policeman who barred him from boarding an aircraft after finding prohibited items in his bag, will be jailed for three months.
The policeman was on duty at the Dubai International Airport’s transit section when the 34-year-old man arrived at the checkpoint prior to boarding the aircraft in January.
When the scanning device exposed a number of strange metals, the policeman asked the transit passenger to step aside with him to search his carry-on luggage.
When the policeman found plenty of batteries in the bag, he informed the Pakistani man that it was not permitted to carry such dangerous items as it posed a risk to the safety of the other passengers and the aircraft.
The defendant turned rowdy and behaved rudely with the policeman and insisted on taking the batteries along. Addressing him politely, the policeman stressed that carrying batteries on any aircraft is a dangerous act and punishable by law.
The defendant, who had been flying from Chile and was drunk, cursed and insulted the policeman. When the policemen tried to calm him down and stop him from behaving rudely and rowdily, the defendant flashed his private parts.
Soon after he had made the indecent gesture, the defendant, heavily drunk that he was, fell to the floor unconscious. He regained consciousness at the police office at the airport and when he realised that the policeman wanted to take legal action against him, he immediately apologised.
In March, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of assaulting and insulting the policeman, gesturing indecently at him in a public place and consuming liquor.
The accused appealed his primary judgement and asked the Appeals Court to reduce his punishment.
On Sunday, presiding judge Eisa Al Sharif rejected the defendant’s appeal and upheld his three-month jail term.
The accused entered a not guilty plea in court.
According to the appellate ruling, the defendant will be deported after serving his sentence.
The policeman testified that the incident happened at the airport’s transit section at 5.45am.
“The accused insisted on boarding the aircraft with his batteries; he insisted although I had warned him that it was illegal since they could endanger the safety of the flight and the passengers. When I asked him for his passport, he behaved mischievously. He cursed my mother, sister and cursed me in front of other passengers. He made an indecent gesture when he pointed his two hands towards his private parts in my face. He shouted at me and cursed until he fell down unconscious as he was too drunk,” the policeman said.
The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court.
