Dubai: A woman who used her Instagram account to defame a famous cosmetic clinic in Dubai was fined Dh5,000 by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanour.
According to Dubai Public Prosecution, the 20-year-old woman went to the clinic in Bur Dubai for retouches on her face but she was not satisfied with the results.
The Arab woman then used her social media account to defame and insult the clinic and the doctor who treated her. “She used her personal account on Instagram to insult the clinic and the doctor which is punishable by cyber-crime law,” an official in Dubai prosecution said.
On July 2019, the clinic reported the incident to Bur Dubai police station and the woman was summoned for questioning.
The prosecution checked the woman’s posts on social media before referring her to court.
The prosecution said the woman liked to wear fashionable clothes since her childhood and her mother encouraged her to follow up the latest fashion trends.
The prosecution said she has an obsession of having new looks all the time and that she used to visit cosmetic clinics for surgeries.
“People shouldn’t use websites and social media platforms as a means to distort, offend and abuse others as this will exposes them to legal liability as well as fines. The best way is to go to the authorities to deal with medical complaints,” it added.
What the law says
Without prejudice to the crime of slander determined by the Sharia, shall be punished by imprisonment and a fine not less than Dh250,000 and not in excess of Dh500,000 or either of these two penalties whoever insults or accuses another person of a matter of which he shall be subject to punishment or being held in contempt by others, by using a computer network or an information technology means. If a slander or insult is committed against a public official or servant in the course of or because of his work, this shall be considered an aggravating factor of the crime.
