UAE-based couple jailed for having 'illicit' sex

Having sex outside of marriage is strictly forbidden in the UAE and that's what a man and woman recently found out the hard way. 

According to local newspaper Al Bayan, the duo, an Asian man and an Arab woman, were convicted of having an illicit sexual relationship by an Ajman-based court.

The case was reported to police by the woman, who told officers the defendant had stolen her mobile phone and was refusing to give it back.

When authorities arrived at the scene, the man told them he took the phone because he had paid the woman 200 dirhams ($54) for a massage, but she refused to give him one.

He was later arrested at the scene and sent to a police station to undergo an investigation.

During the initial investigation, the defendant explained that the woman had arranged for him to visit her at home for a massage.

When he arrived, he handed over the money in return for the service but was shocked when she asked him to have sex with her.

After sleeping together, the man asked the Arab woman to give him the massage he paid for. When she refused, he stole her phone and headed out of her building.

In court, the defendant said the woman called her mobile number several times, demanding that he give her back the phone. He told her he'd only return it if she gave him his money back.

During her hearing, the woman denied all the claims made against her but the court still decided to convict her along with the defendant.

Both defendants have now received three-month jail sentences in addition to deportation orders.

If an unmarried UAE-based couple is found to be having a sexual relationship, they can face legal trouble in the country.

In some cases,> simply meeting in private can land people in jail. This isn't the first time a couple faces illicit sex charges in the UAE, and in recent years, several >similar cases have been reported.

These include the case of a British woman who >received a jail time and deportation sentence for having consensual sex with an Emirati man.

Another similar case was recorded in 2016 when a UAE-based British woman was >charged with having consensual sex with a Pakistani man. She is now appealing a one-year jail sentence.

Earlier last year, a Japanese couple was detained and interrogated after they were >caught having sex on a beach in Dubai. A court later handed the duo a one-month suspended imprisonment sentence and an immediate >deportation order.