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London teen jailed for one year in Dubai after 'holiday romance' with 17-year-old girl (www.mylondon.news)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/nottheonion

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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.

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[–] someguy3 119 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Or why you'd even vacation there. How tf did they convince people to vacation in a desert?

[–] kautau 30 points 1 day ago

FOMO. makes it seem exclusive. For whatever reason at least 50% of humans are just wired to want to feel better than everyone else. The actual experience itself doesn't matter as long as they can brag about it knowing that others weren't able to achieve it. Dubai literally has ice shipped in from melting glaciers so that rich people can put it into their drink https://arcticice.ae/

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Seriously, it’s like worse Vegas, and I don’t like Vegas at all

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

It's way better than Vegas, at least they maintain the place. Vegas reminded me of a junkyard full of crackheads and flashy lights.

[–] Duamerthrax 3 points 8 hours ago

Vegas wasn't built by slaves.

[–] 3ntranced 2 points 19 hours ago

I'd like Vegas if there was like an airconditioned pedway to walk around the strip out of the heat and away from the crazies but still be able to observe like a human zoo.

[–] nomous 1 points 1 day ago

Really? I loved Vegas and can't wait to go back. Full disclosure though I'm not really a gambler and we didn't hit the casinos at all but there's some really cool stuff in that area.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A bit of an unwarranted answer, but many richer Pakistanis go there to buy stuff that isn't easily available back home. Hence, they become cash cows for the ginormous malls over there (seriously. If you think American malls are big, you haven't been to Dubai). It's basically the closest foreign city we have direct flights to, due to our sanctions and all with India. For example, I got my Nintendo 3DS, and later the phone that I'm currently using (Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra), from malls in Dubai.

[–] someguy3 3 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

How much are plane tickets? Flying somewhere to buy things is weird to my brain.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

They were undoubtedly cheaper before, but with a low-budget airline like airblue, at least, a round-trip ticket between Lahore and Dubai, for a single adult, economy class, can cost 85,216 PKR or 306.23 USD.

Choosing a more expensive airline like Emirates bumps it up to 138,028 PKR or 496.01 USD.

(Source: Google Flights)

To be fair, my father at least would often buy stuff while he had another reason to be there (i.e. for business).