Sex-on-the-beach couple face jail in Dubai

(17 July 2008)

Two Britons face up to six years in jail after being caught having sex on a beach in Dubai.

The couple were arrested on Jumeirah beach after allegedly being found in a 'compromising situation' after an afternoon of drinking.

The couple have since undergone a hasty civil rights marriage in an attempt to reduce any possible sentence.

Their arrests come after a crackdown on indecent sunbathing and public kissing was enforced in Muslim Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates.

Sex outside marriage, adultery and cohabitation are all imprisonable offences in the strictly Muslim country, although authorities are often lenient on the growing expatriate community.