401

Marcus, from Tottenham, North London, had been enjoying a holiday with his parents when he met a fellow Brit at the same hotel. A holiday fling sparked and the pair spent time together until the girl, also from London, flew back to Britain.

In Dubai, if an adult has a sexual relationship with a person under 18, they can be prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with a minor. The relationship would be legal in the UK.

Marcus and his parents were set to fly back shortly after - but their plans were thrown into chaos when police knocked on their hotel room door. The "terrified" teenager was then reportedly hauled in for questioning without any explanation and held at the Al Barsha Police Station, DID said. He spent three days there, during which time he was not allowed to make a phone call or speak with his parents, it is claimed.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 61 points 1 month ago

I'm curious how the authorities were even aware of this occurring. The article says they were on holiday, so it's not like there was much time. How did anyone notice their ages? Was it just fishing for a charge because of unrelated reasons?

[-] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 86 points 1 month ago

Either

  1. They're always watching. I'm in tech and was taught in my security training - when traveling to countries with extremely strong surveillance, assume you are bugged. Family could be high valued and they wanted something from the parents. Probably a bit too tinfoil hat.

  2. Vengeance girl's parents could be assholes/racist. As a dude, Ive had my share of "mommy & daddy doesn't like me for taking their precious flower". Multiplier in effect if they have a problem that I'm a PoC.

[-] Dashmezzo@lemm.ee 47 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It was the mother of the girl. She got back to the UK found out about the boy and contacted the Dubai authorities. Apparently the girl was days off her 18th birthday too. It was in the news report when he was originally arrested.

Wrecked a young man’s life for some bullshit reason.

[-] Aatube@kbin.melroy.org 4 points 1 month ago

Wow, 2 years older in mere days. Must be a leap year.

[-] Dashmezzo@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago

Sorry typo. Fixed

[-] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

I think either of those are super plausible. There will be people where they stayed who are happy to snitch, no bugs required. On top of that, the UAE has one of the highest concentration of surveillance cameras in the world. Like 30,000 in Dubai. Throw in some facial recognition cross referenced with the list of folks on vacation or on business in the city and it's real easy to find out who is spending time together, what their ages are, and what their kids will look like.

The second one happens all the time. Happened to me when I turned 18 before my then girlfriend. Her mom threatened me with jail and all kinds of shit even though it was perfectly legal and we were only a couple of months apart. She just didn't like me or the fact that I was dating her daughter. Would have probably been worse if I had been a PoC.

[-] Obi@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 month ago

You've left out the good old snitch, my understanding is they're pretty darn strict with anything that involves women over there, so maybe someone from the hotel saw something and reported it.

[-] COASTER1921@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

If you check the article it says it's the 2nd case, the girl's parents notified the Dubai authorities

[-] pandapoo@sh.itjust.works 32 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Did you read the article?

The girls mother reported him to the Dubai police.

Hopefully her identity is revealed to the public and she faces some consequences for her actions. Maybe it's already been leaked or released elsewhere, but it wasn't in that article.

[-] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 month ago

I don't believe that detail was in the article when I read it, but I'm unable to find any copies from before the update. I can tell you the article now is very different from the original.

[-] Aatube@kbin.melroy.org 10 points 1 month ago

After returning to the UK and seeing pictures and chats, the girl’s mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who then arrested Mr Fakana at his hotel, it is alleged.

this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2024
401 points (100.0% liked)

Not The Onion

12766 readers
1075 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

  1. Links to news stories from...
  2. ...credible sources, with...
  3. ...their original headlines, that...
  4. ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Comments must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS