Marcus Fakana gets prison sentence in Dubai.

[Ohnonotmeagain]

This is the 18 year old lad who had a holiday romance with a 17 year old girl in Dubai. She was just short of 18.

her parents found out and reported him to the Dubai authorities before he returned home.

his poor parents aren’t well off and had to return home to work leaving him there.

he’s now been sentenced to 1 year in prison.

aibu to think this poor boy should never have been brought before court.

It also sounds like the mother of the girl was hazy about the consequences of reporting this in Dubai.

I think a lot of people are lying or have a lack of empathy because they cannot see themselves or their sons in this kid.

I know when I did my Greek island extravaganza as a 19 year old it never occurred to me to research “the age of consent on Mykonos.”

If it was their son their tune would change.

Aren't raped women branded as adulterers? This happened to a British woman a few years ago who reported her rape in Dubai. All involved were British holiday-makers.

Which is not a crime. Sex between 2 unmarried people is not a crime

I don't believe that for one minute.

Where did you live with such big social problems? Equally, medieval legal systems and limited human rights is luckily something the UK does not celebrate!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38013351

So you think all social problems would se sorted if we imprisoned 16 year old boys having sex with 15 year old girls? Don’t be so ridiculous!

Maybe if the police didn’t turn a blind eye to grown men having sex with children for years because of “community sensitivities” it would be a start

They went for a family reunion, ignorance isn't often a defense. Honestly out of all of the awful things that happen in that country it's quite telling people are most disgusted and outraged about a man being arrested for this, and the accusations and outrage towards the girls mother is really weird.

She is British too. So you mean how would the British Press react to a 16 year old foreigner having sex with a foreigner that was 15 and 9 months.

I doubt they would care.

You can hold hands in public. Do it with husband as often as we would in the UK. No issues. Recently seen a change in some younger Emirati couples will also hold hands.

I think the woman who was drunk got arrested because she was abusive to the immigration staff as well as being drunk.

Extramarital sex is legal in Dubai for tourists.

The issue here is age of consent.

Oh come on, it’s pathetic that a country would do this! I’m just shocked that anyone still visits the place.

Marcus Fakana, of Tottenham, north London, began the secretive holiday romance in September with another Londoner, who is now aged 18.
After returning home and seeing pictures and chats, the girl's mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who then arrested Fakana at his hotel. Sex with another person aged under 18 is illegal in Dubai.

I'm not sure that means mother was unclear about reporting - seems extreme to me as UK citizen to report to anther countries police.

Some posters here are saying girls mother is from Dubai so she'd be really clear what reporting would do - but I've not read that in press so no idea what the mother or girls background is or how clear or unclear the mother was at cons.

Though hindsight 20/20 her sneaking round so much should probably been a warning if not to the boy then to his parents.

The reason the FO probably say that is that it’s in black and white for those tourists who don’t understand the culture and wouldn’t stop at the holding hands in public.

Why are you calling him a man?

He was an 18 year old teen who had a consensual sexual fling with a 17 year old girl. The mother after attempting to make a false allegation of sexual assault instead reported him for this because she was vindictive.

To be clear all involved are British so she would be well aware that had it happened in the UK it would be fine. She was mad that her darling daughter was consensually “defiled” and wanted to make him pay. And you don’t understand why she is facing vitriol?

I am also shocked anyone would, this is one of the least shocking things imo though

If he had raped her the responses would be very different. It seems to be that it was consensual, but when the mother found out, she waited till she and her daughter were safely out of the country, then reported him to the authorities in Dubai, knowing that he was still there. It appears absolutely calculated to me.

YABU he found out exactly what FAFO means he should never have been in Dubai if he wasn’t willing to abide by their rules. Don’t go abroad if you don’t like the way they do things. He’s 18 he’s not a child if he’s old enough to have sex then he’s old enough to find out that actions have consequences. Rules and rules he will think twice before he does it again.

One piece of luck, they abolished flogging in 2020.

Why does the Foreign Office list this as something you shouldn't do then?

An 18 yo is an adult and he's an adult man.

Everything I have read says the mother is from the UK and of South Asian descent which probably explains her extreme opposition to the relationship.

My goodness - just awful, joyless and depressing.

He is over 18. He is a man. Mind you, she is also a woman yet no one seems to be calling her that 🤷🏻‍♀️