Dubai expat fined after taxi queue bust-up

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Dubai expat fined after taxi queue bust-up A man was arrested in front of his parents after a drunken row with a taxi customer outside an upmarket hotel. Dubai Court of Misdemeanours was told the British resident, aged 34, had been drinking at the Crowne Plaza on Sheikh Zayed Road. He had left the hotel on October 30 at 7.20pm and was waiting for a cab with his tourist parents. He claimed that he was in the queue when another man jumped in front of him to take a taxi first. The defendant, described as a manager at a local bank, then began yelling and shoving the man that skipped in front of him, prosecutors told the court. One of the officers who attended the scene said: “He [the accused] was drunk and you could smell alcohol off him. He was causing problems with other customers. We arrested him and took him to the police station to carry out an alcohol test.” The man showed officers an alcohol licence but the court was told it had not been issued in Dubai. The accused claimed in court that he had only consumed two glasses of red wine with his parents then went for a taxi. The court was not told if police found him to have exceeded that. He said: “My parents were standing with me waiting when I had a problem with a hotel customer about who was first in line. The row developed until a police patrol came and they took me to police station.” He was convicted of consuming alcohol without a licence and fined Dhs2,000. The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days. ali.shouk@7days.ae Read the original story at: Dubai expat fined after taxi queue bust-up