Don't swear guys!!

[evyjet]

N Adelaide man who allegedly swore at an undercover police officer in the United Arab Emirates has had his passport confiscated.

Former Australian soldier Sun McKay, 32, was working as a private security consultant in Afghanistan when he was arrested for allegedly swearing at an airport policeman at Dubai late last month.

Mr McKay told Channel Seven that when he stepped out of a line in the departure lounge of the airport to use an ATM he was grabbed by the police officer.

"This guy in a blue shirt grabbed my wrist quite hard, pulled me towards him and started yelling at me in Arabic and I just said, 'What the f--?'," Mr Mckay said.

Mr McKay said when the police officer produced his ID he apologised, but was taken to a room and interrogated for three hours.

His passport was confiscated and he remains unable to leave the country while he awaits trial on charges of using insulting and inappropriate language to a police officer.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Mr McKay refused consular help at the time and used insulting and inappropriate language towards consular staff after the airport incident.

He has since requested their help.

Mr McKay faces a maximum three years jail.


Maybe this guy was out of order using this language, and maybe a smart alec .....But "up to 3 years jail"!! ..... Man, I'm glad I'm not in this part of the world anymore. It only takes one incident to screw up your life there!! Tread carefully my friends. :oh:

[Wiley]

Very long term residents of the UAE will remember the days when Sharjah was the hot spot Western expats went to for a fun (read boozy) night out. Then, when Sharjah fell on hard times (around 1984?) and was bailed out by Saudi Arabia, part of the price for such help was that Sharjah went 'dry' - and overnight, it became very much not a 'fun place'.

Now, with traditionally more conservative Abu Dhabi having just bailed anything but conservative Dubai out of its current monetary travails in not totally dissimilar circumstances, it remains to be seen what directions have come from AUH to DXB on how it should conduct itself, perhaps particularly in regard to its until now rather benign attitude to the behaviour of its young, single Western expatriate population.

Possibly interesting (and very confusing) times ahead, both for the Dubai expat population and the hapless (mostly expat themselves) Dubai policemen who'll be implementing the new (and, I suspect, very frequently changing) rules.

[Capetonian]

After my last (and it will be my last) flight on Emirates into Dubai, after a 10 hour delayed flight and then what seemed like a 12 hour bus journey to the gate from the stand, I got off the bus and stood outside the entrance to the building, right next to the door, for a couple of minutes to get some real air as I was feeling a bit unwell (admittedly, after enjoying a bottle of Stellenbosch's finest before boarding the flight). Ironically there was an airport worker standing nearby, smoking.

Within less than a minute a 'security' person came along and gestured at me, ignoring the smoker, to go inside. I told him politely that I needed some fresh air and wanted to stay there. People were still disembarking from the buses so there was no reason for me not to be there, I wasn't exactly wandering round on the apron. He barely spoke English but just kept repeating 'go in'. He then thrust his pass/ID into my face and said 'police police'. I waited a few more minutes until he got on his radio and, whether bluffing or not, appeared to be calling for a reinforcement, and went inside.

This had all the makings of a nasty incident and was totally uncalled for. I have since heard from my UAE based friends of many similar incidents of petty officials overstepping the mark in a nasty way (they must be sent to the UK for training), and I am also happy that I am unlikely to ever have to need to set foot in Dubai again.

A pity because in many ways EK is an outstanding airline but the airport experience is, and always has been, ghastly.

[BigGeordie]

After more than five years in Dubai I can honestly say I've never had a problem at the airport, as crew or passenger, with customs, security or police. I'm polite and respectful to them, they are polite and respectful to me. Indeed, I've found them a lot nicer to deal with than many uniformed airport staff in the "Western World". Maybe I've just been lucky?

[S.F.L.Y]

"private security consultant in Afghanistan" and The Department of Foreign Affairs said Mr McKay refused consular help at the time and used insulting and inappropriate language towards consular staff after the airport incident.

He has since requested their help.


I love these parts and the demonstration of his "consultant" skills.

[lpokijuhyt]

That's hilarious! The only swearing he'll be doing now is when he is bending over to pick up his soap in the shower.

[evyjet]

BigGeordie, I agree. I was living in the sandpit for a few years, and never had an issue with an authority. I was always polite and respectful (maybe out of fear ;))

But... the point is, we're all human. Anybody can have a bad day. If this happens in the western world, you face a system that doesn't give you hard time for a small slipup.

You may be in Dubai for 15 years with a perfect record, then the next day face hard time for making a silly mistake, or you have a car accident where the other occupant is killed, even though it was his fault. And definitely make sure you don't have any codeine in your system if visiting or transiting!

The middle east is just too temperamental for my liking.

[Funk]

Chances are he lost it with the Aussie consular staff because he probably thought he was talking to an Indian call centre....you'd get just as much sense out of em.

We all just have remember we're not home and behave accordingly because if you're Australian outside of the country you might as well be from Mars :}

[springbok449]

The officials in the UAE airports are a whole lot friendlier than their counterparts at LHR or LGW...

[sec 3]

Right you are springbok. Certainly none of the bull**** going through security and none the less secure!!:}

[ab33t]

Hold your tongue ... or have you ass thrown into jail

[Nightfire]

And so, what's the surprise about it?

I used to fly in and out of LAX for over a year with my ex-company, and I could spend the whole evening talking about my experiences with the "Department Of Homeland Security".
Or now that I fly in and out of LHR two- to three times per month, I still can't get used to the unfriendly staff who treat me like a refugee whenever I check in and out.
Maybe it's all part of some security-measures, to try and intimidate everybody - crew as much as passengers - on certain airports. But my experience in AUH is, that they are usually friendly, quick, and don't give me any unnecessary hassles. They have to do their spot-checks which occasionally also fall on me, but it always ends with a smile and an apology on their behalf.

As much as I sometimes complain about this place, the airport is not among my favorite enemies. :)

[40&80]

So did you get the free food and house and the income money for life from LHR?

[nakbin330]

Wiley.

I had no idea that some of the local cops were expats.

Keep discovering ....

[Andu]

nabkin, Wiley's correct. Quite a large number of the rank and file cops are Yemini expats who are as much in fear of getting kicked out of the country as the average Indian or Pakistani labourer, which might explain how drivers of a certain nationality always seem to get the green slip or whose appaling driving is not noticed.

[sandbunny]

WILEY -You obviously haven't been to AUH recently. It's come a long way babe and has learnt from the mistakes of DXB. It is NOTHING like Saudi! :)

[Wiley]

sandbunny, I wasn't inferring for one moment that Abu Dhabi was anything like Saudi, but simply saying that I (like many others) believe that for Dubai, there will be a price to pay for the bailout and that that price may include a 'suggestion' from the southern end of Sheikh Zayed Road that it tighten a little (or quite a lot!) the rather loose reins (in many Locals' eyes, including many Dubai locals' eyes) it imposes on the younger Western expats who live there.