Sharjah: Police on Monday denied fake news circulating on social networking sites claiming that a man shot himself in a Sharjah shooting club.
Sharjah police confirmed that the video is from outside the country.
A Sharjah Police official said the video, which is currently doing the rounds on social media, shows a person turning a gun on himself at a shooting club. It is from outside the country and did not occur at the Sharjah Shooting Club, the police clarified.
Sharjah Police pointed out the current video has nothing to do with an earlier incident which occurred about seven years ago in the emirate and resulted in the death of a 32-year-old man from Denmark. The man had shot himself using a shooting weapon while he was at the shooting club in Sharjah. At the time, police had dealt with the incident as a case of suicide.
Police now warned social media users from spreading rumours.
UAE law
Article 29 of the Federal Legal Decree No 5 for 2012 states those proven guilty of spreading rumours on social media face imprisonment and a civil fine not exceeding Dh1 million.
Covered by the law are messages or posts spread by electronic means, through email, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook or any other online platform or information technology tool.
The law not only penalises fake news. Even if the information posted online is true, the person sharing it can still be held liable if someone else’s privacy has been violated.
