SHARJAH, 4 June 2005 — An unmarried Indian couple have been sentenced to one year in prison for hugging and kissing in a taxi in the Emirate of Fujairah in the north of the UAE. A report in the local press identified the man as Anis Balnabar and the woman as Bani Bent.
It is the first such case reported in the UAE in recent years. According to the report, Bani Bent, who works at a national’s house in Fujairah, came out of the building and flagged a taxi. A short distance ahead, she picked up the man and both got into the back seat of the vehicle.
The taxi driver was told to drive to a park. As he was driving, the driver spied through the rear mirror that the couple were hugging and kissing each other. He turned the car and drove straight to the nearest police station.
The report said the couple were not even aware that the vehicle had a taken a detour until it stopped before the police station. The driver informed police that the two were engaged in “indecent acts” in his car.
Police questioned the two. The couple admitted that they were lovers and hugging and kissing each other in the car.
Police took them into custody and referred the case to prosecutors who charged the man with “indecent assault by consent,” and the woman with facilitating the offense. A court in Fujairah sentenced both to one year each in prison.
