Dangerous Fun in Dubai

Two Britons found guilty of having sex on a Dubai beach have lodged an appeal against their conviction.

Hassan Matter, who represents them, said the appeal hearing would take place in Dubai on 18 November.

I made the appeal today, said Mr Matter. We say they are not guilty.

Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors remain on bail ahead of next month's hearing.

Two Britons who have been jailed for three months for a sexual liaison on a beach in Dubai insist they are "innocent" and will appeal against their sentence.

Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors met at a £60 all-you-can-drink champagne brunch in July and were arrested hours later by police who claimed they had been having sex on the public Jumeirah beach.

Judge Hamdi Abul Khair, who has presided over their case at Dubai's Court of First Instance, sentenced them to three months imprisonment, fined them 1,000 dirhams (£155) each for drinking alcohol and ordered their deportation after their sentence.

But he did not make clear whether the sentence related purely to the charge of indecent behaviour or the charge of sex outside marriage.

The unfortunate couple will remain on bail in Dubai pending the appeal, which will be lodged after the judge issues a formal explanation of his verdict, in two weeks.

Hassan Mattar, defence lawyer for the pair, said: "The verdict shows that the judge was convinced that they did not have sexual intercourse but he punished them for the indecent act of kissing (in public).

Senior persecutor Faisal Abdelmalek Ahli said: The sentence is rather light. I expect the prosecution to appeal.

Under the law of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is part, the maximum sentence for sexual intercourse outside of marriage is one year imprisonment and the minimum is three months, he said. The same applies for committing an indecent act in public.

Ahli said he expected Acors and Palmer to serve their full three-month term in Dubai: Sometimes people serve half their sentence, but this is so short I expect they will serve it all .

A British woman caught having drunken sex on a beach in Dubai is to be charged with three offences, police said yesterday.

Michelle Palmer faces up to six years in jail if found guilty of having a sexual affair, public indecency and insulting a police officer.

Prosecutors have yet to decide what charges - if any - will be laid against Kent businessman Vince Acors, the man she romped with on the sand of Jumeirah beach after an all-day drinking binge.

Miss Palmer will face a Dubai court once she has been formally charged. She has already been sacked from her £28,000-a-year tax-free job with ITP Publishing.

A police officer spotted the couple having sex on the sand and let them off with a caution. But they ignored the warning and were arrested when the officer returned to the scene.

According to police sources, Miss Palmer launched an angry tirade at the policeman after being disturbed for a second time. She is alleged to have hurled abuse and tried to hit him with her high-heeled shoe before being restrained and taken to a cell

Sex outside marriage is illegal in the Islamic federation of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai police chief Major General Khamis Mattar al Mazeina said: 'The United Arab Emirates has certain traditions and values and is an Islamic country: It does not tolerate such behaviour and everyone must respect our culture as we respect theirs.

Police are so concerned about the city's drunken daytime parties that they are intending to mount a special 'brunch patrol' to catch misbehaving Britons. Undercover officers will be posted in hotel restaurants on Friday afternoons, a time when most local Muslims are at the mosque but the top hotels host lavish parties - and most of the fun occurs.