Dubai: A tourist has been jailed for three months for using profane language and cursing Islam and Muslims when airport police woke him up after he dozed off in a drunken state near their office.
The 28-year-old Jordanian tourist was in an inebriated state when he fell asleep beside the door of the police office at the Dubai International Airport in July. A police officer woke up the man from beside the door because he smelt strongly of alcohol.
The policeman escorted the 28-year-old man to the lock-up. When officers in the lock-up tried to check on the man and tried to provide him with medical assistance after he injured himself intentionally, he cursed God, Islam and Muslims.
On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted him of profanity.
Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi also fined the accused Dh5,000.
The accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The defendant pleaded not guilty in court and said he did not remember what he said because he was drunk.
A police lieutenant said the incident happened shortly after the defendant was confined to the lock-up. “He slept in front of the police office at the airport. When we woke him up and realised that he was drunk, we kept him in custody. Later he injured himself on purpose and when we tried to provide him with medical care, he used profane language and he was very aggressive. We calmed him down and while moving him to the hospital, he got angry again and used blasphemous language for the second time,” the lieutenant said.
When questioned by prosecutors, the defendant admitted that he consumed alcohol in Ajman and went to Dubai airport.
He said that he did not have any intention to commit suicide but he just injured himself to attract the police’s attention because nobody had been listening to him.
Evidence furnished was insufficient for prosecutors to charge the defendant with attempted suicide.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
