UAE man calls fiancee 'idiot' on WhatsApp; fined Rs. 4L
What's the story
Fights, jokes, and name-calling are quite common among couples. But sometimes one gets a little too offended. Like this woman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who took his fiance's joke, calling her an 'idiot' on WhatsApp, as a serious offense. He has now been jailed for 60 days and fined for Dh20,000 (approx. Rs. 4 lakh). Here's what happened.
Details
Man says he sent the message as a joke
The young man from the Gulf Cooperation Council had innocently sent a message to his girlfriend on WhatsApp as a joke, calling her habla (which means 'idiot' in Arabic). He claimed that he used the word in a humorous way and meant no insult. But, his fiancee thought otherwise. She took it as an insult and filed a court case against him.
Law
In UAE, sending anything offensive on social media is cybercrime
In UAE, numerous cases like these have been filed against people who sent something on WhatsApp as a joke but the recipient took it seriously. As per law, sending anything of an offensive nature on social media is considered a cybercrime. Perpetrators are jailed and often times slapped fines of up to Dh1 million (approx. Rs. 2cr), a media report said.
Be careful
The law also applies for messages sent by 'accident'
In another case, a man was sent to jail for sending an explicit video to a woman on his contact list in WhatsApp. The man, however, claimed that he had forwarded her the video by accident without checking the content beforehand. To this, a legal-consultant said the law applies for messages sent on purpose or by "accident". Think twice before you "type" next time!