Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Marcus Fakana sentenced to a year in prison

1000 replies

Zippedydodah · 30/12/2024 12:11

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles]]]]
I cannot believe that this lad is going to spend a year in prison- yes, I know that’s the law there, he should have known better etc, etc
I hope that the girl’s mother is ashamed of her actions.
I don’t want to think what the impact will be on Marcus 😥

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
1dayatatime · 05/01/2025 09:09

If the MF case doesn't serve as enough of a warning to make sure that you check and follow the laws of Dubai, a British woman spent 2 months in prison and narrowly avoided 4 years in prison for having traces of the painkiller codeine and the sedative Temazepam in her urine (both of which are legal prescription drugs in the UK) when she was detained at the airport. She didn't even have the drugs with her just trace elements in her urine.

Still I stand by "their country their rules " and if you don't like it then don't go.

Lampzade · 05/01/2025 09:28

Hufflemuff · 05/01/2025 01:33

Agree with all the comments on the spiteful bitch mother, shitty Dubai laws and all the "why would anyone go to Dubai!?" comments, as I feel the same.

However, one thing that's stumped me about this... how did a warehouse worker and a cleaner afford a holiday to Dubai in the first place!? The media are making such a big deal about their occupations, but their careers and the trip aren't marrying up.

Dubai is relatively cheap in July /August because it is extremely hot. I am talking 40- 45 degrees .
Many people try to avoid visiting Dubai during this period.
I think that we are so used to the culture of instant gratification that we forget that people still save up to go on holiday .

Lampzade · 05/01/2025 09:32

1dayatatime · 05/01/2025 09:09

If the MF case doesn't serve as enough of a warning to make sure that you check and follow the laws of Dubai, a British woman spent 2 months in prison and narrowly avoided 4 years in prison for having traces of the painkiller codeine and the sedative Temazepam in her urine (both of which are legal prescription drugs in the UK) when she was detained at the airport. She didn't even have the drugs with her just trace elements in her urine.

Still I stand by "their country their rules " and if you don't like it then don't go.

Yep
Not only the laws in Dubai but even in countries such as the US.
One cannot take codeine based medication into the US . In the US you can only get it by prescription .
In the UK we can buy it otc .

Efacsen · 05/01/2025 11:01

AccountCreateUsername · 03/01/2025 18:51

@PandoraSox thank you, I might have alluded to what that poster wrote in my deleted post. I may have been troll hunting too, I won’t repeat what I said verbatim just in case.

I think another thread would be really good, I think I said apart from a few notable posters there seems to be so much sympathy and support for Marcus on this thread.

edit - police ref to a different thread and a different poster!

Edited

A couple of nights ago there was a thread in 'Holidays' asking if another of the smaller Emirates was a safe place for a family holiday

Maybe that board would be a good place to start a new thread if it's still being considered a good idea?

Eggseggslegs · 05/01/2025 11:34

PinkTonic · 03/01/2025 17:01

Yes the heavy handed application of the law without nuance.

It’s so hypocritical anyway, since technically there isn’t an age of consent in UAE. Extra marital sex is forbidden…. except where they decriminalised it in some circumstances so that all the western tourists who aren’t married are hopefully not committing crimes for which they could be subjected to cruel, barbaric and inhuman punishment.

It’s actually still possible to marry under the age of 18 (from puberty) so it’s not about the wellbeing of young girls at all.

Show quote history

I wasn't aware of that, that's very interesting.

Plastictreees · 07/07/2025 08:38

Great news!

Sinkintotheswamp · 07/07/2025 09:01

Really relieved to hear this. Glad he's home.

LizzieSiddal · 07/07/2025 09:08

Thank goodness for that. I hope he’s going to be ok.

PandoraSocks · 07/07/2025 13:30

That is great news.

Delatron · 07/07/2025 14:06

It’s great news he’s been pardoned and released but sad he still served 7 months of the sentence. I do hope he was ok in there.

JHound · 07/07/2025 15:05

Ellmau · 07/07/2025 08:34

Excellent news. Good he did not have to do the full year too.

Hope he gets any required counselling / therapy he needs.

Sinkintotheswamp · 07/07/2025 15:56

The poor lad will have missed a year of education too. I hope he will be allowed to catch up whatever further education course he was on.

LlynTegid · 07/07/2025 16:09

Still zero sympathy as you check basics before going anywhere. Though at least with a pardon he has no criminal record.

cyvguhb · 07/07/2025 16:28

LlynTegid · 07/07/2025 16:09

Still zero sympathy as you check basics before going anywhere. Though at least with a pardon he has no criminal record.

Do you really know 18 year olds who check the laws around sexual behaviour before they go on holiday and rigidly stick to them if the opportunity for sex arises?

Your experience of teenage boys must be very different to mine

Would you have been sympathetic in the hypothetical situation of one of your children doing the same? I'm guessing you may say thats unlikely as presumably they have no flaws

Clavinova · 07/07/2025 18:53

Ellmau · 07/07/2025 08:34

He's not 18 now - he was 19 in January. His legal team did lie/fudge the age difference last year, albeit by months not years. They variously said he was only weeks older than the girl - more like 9/10 months older.

TwistedWonder · 07/07/2025 18:59

cyvguhb · 07/07/2025 16:28

Do you really know 18 year olds who check the laws around sexual behaviour before they go on holiday and rigidly stick to them if the opportunity for sex arises?

Your experience of teenage boys must be very different to mine

Would you have been sympathetic in the hypothetical situation of one of your children doing the same? I'm guessing you may say thats unlikely as presumably they have no flaws

Show quote history

Yep. I’m amazed how many on MN were fully versed with international law of every country their parents took them on holiday as teenagers. And equally herself control of them when as horny young adults they refused to partake in any sexual activity than didn’t strictly adhere to the letter of the law.

funinthesun19 · 07/07/2025 19:09

That’s amazing news. I’m so happy and relieved for him.

I hope the girl disowns her evil mum. It’s exactly what she deserves.

EasternStandard · 07/07/2025 19:21

Delatron · 07/07/2025 14:06

It’s great news he’s been pardoned and released but sad he still served 7 months of the sentence. I do hope he was ok in there.

Same

SabreIsMyFave · 07/07/2025 19:31

Clavinova · 07/07/2025 18:53

He's not 18 now - he was 19 in January. His legal team did lie/fudge the age difference last year, albeit by months not years. They variously said he was only weeks older than the girl - more like 9/10 months older.

Show quote history

Yeah this. ^

SabreIsMyFave · 07/07/2025 19:40

Pleased he has been released, but I have to agree with the posters saying that he should have known better. Are people really so naive that they don't know how strict and rigid laws are in the UAE? Marcus is an adult, and was when the incident occurred. Ignorance is no defence. Marcus is not a 'poor lad.' He is an adult who broke the law in Dubai.

And blaming the girl's mother when he was the one who broke the law is ludicrous. The person who commits the crime/felony is the one to be blamed, not the one who reports it. Yes, I think a jail sentence for what happened is OTT, but I am a Brit, living in Britain. I have no business, and no right, to diss the laws of other cultures and countries, and tell them they're 'wrong.'

Marcus is not a bad person, and as I said, I'm glad he's free. But he did break the law in another country, and the only one to blame for his jail time is him.

SabreIsMyFave · 07/07/2025 19:40

That's my opinion anyway. ^

SabreIsMyFave · 07/07/2025 19:41

1dayatatime · 05/01/2025 09:09

If the MF case doesn't serve as enough of a warning to make sure that you check and follow the laws of Dubai, a British woman spent 2 months in prison and narrowly avoided 4 years in prison for having traces of the painkiller codeine and the sedative Temazepam in her urine (both of which are legal prescription drugs in the UK) when she was detained at the airport. She didn't even have the drugs with her just trace elements in her urine.

Still I stand by "their country their rules " and if you don't like it then don't go.

Completely agree. ^

SabreIsMyFave · 07/07/2025 19:41

End.

SabreIsMyFave · 07/07/2025 19:41

Of Thread.......

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In
This thread is not accepting new messages.