7 Days
Dubai, Jul 25: The British couple caught having sex in public on Jumeirah Beach have both been referred to a Dubai court to stand trial.Michelle Palmer, a Dubai resident for the past three years, and tourist Vince Acors have been charged with having an illicit affair, indecency in a public place and consuming alcohol, after public prosecutors reviewed the case.
DNA tests have now proved the couple did have intercourse earlier this month.The pair were caught on July 5 by a police officer after they had been on an all-day drinking binge at a Friday brunch held in one of the city’s hotels.
Acors, 34, vehemently denied having sex in public in an exclusive letter sent to 7DAYS but said that he deeply regretted his ‘thoughtless actions’ and had been left ‘humbled and humiliated’ by the experience.
In his only correspondence with reporters from across the world, Acors told us: “I have been accused of engaging in indecent relations in a public place which I deny… Having drunk more than that I should during the course of the day, a friendly encounter with a female acquaintance became overly affectionate at a time and place when we both should have known better. “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and of the offence and trouble these have caused.”
However, sources at Dubai Public Prosecution confirmed that Acors admitted having sex on the beach when interviewed by police, although 36-year-old Palmer maintained they did not do so.The source said: “He confessed to the charges during the investigation. DNA tests have also now proved that they had sex together that day.”
There are no charges against the couple in connection with either one of them assaulting or insulting a police officer.
Reports suggested that Palmer had verbally insulted a policeman in an anti-Islamic tirade of abuse and hit him with her designer shoes.
Prosecutor Faisal Abdul Malik Ahly said: “The incident happened when the female suspect agreed to have sex with him on the open beach in Jumeirah in front of other beach users. “They were both under the influence of alcohol and we heard from witnesses who saw the incident. We have proof that they had sex together.”
The suspects will appear before judges at the Dubai Court of First Instance within the next few days.
Palmer, a publishing executive in Dubai, was dismissed from her company earlier this month when the allegations first arose. Acors, a father-of-one, had been ordered not to leave the country until his trial. It is against the law in the UAE to have sexual relations outside of marriage.