Brit spent Christmas in Dubai jail over angry WhatsApp message to 'rip-off' car dealer
KEY POINTS
- When Yaseen Killick discovered he was sold a car that had been written off, he sent an angry text.
- He broke UAE's strict cybercrime laws for asking dealer "how do you sleep at night?"
- Latest in a string of cases of Brits being arrested in Dubai.
A British man spent Christmas in a Dubai jail after he was arrested for sending an angry WhatsApp message to a second-hand car salesman after his vehicle broke down.
Yaseen Killick, 29, sent a lengthy message venting his frustration to the seller after the VW Golf he paid £6,000 for broke down just a matter of hours after he paid for it.
After discovering the car was previously a write-off, Killick messaged the dealer: "How do you sleep at night knowing you are ripping people off?''
He added: "It's morally wrong what you are doing and I hope that me taking you to court will stop you trying to defraud other people and stealing their money."
The dealer then contacted the police as Killick was alleged to have broken the United Arab Emirate's strict cyber crime laws.
Killick was arrested at the airport as he and his wife attempted to travel back to the UK for Christmas. He then spent three weeks in prison before being kicked out of the country.
Speaking to the Sun, Killick said: "It was a nightmare. The prison conditions were horrific. I was treated appallingly — all for sending a WhatsApp message."
His wife Robyn added: "We have lost our home and our jobs and it's been horrible, all over this guy ripping us off and we are so badly out of pocket.
"We went there to try as a last adventure before coming back to England and getting married and starting a family but it's left us really badly out of pocket."
Discussing the case, Radha Stirling, of pressure group Detained In Dubai, said: "Anyone who sends a message to someone in Dubai on electronic media that is critical or a complaint, then they can find themselves subject to a police investigation and if convicted they can be fined or even imprisoned."
There have been a number of cases involving British people being arrested and threatened with jail after breaking some of the Gulf nation's strict laws.
A British father battling cancer was arrested for allegedly having "too many" anti-anxiety pills. He told officers at the port of Furairah in the United Arab Emirates he needed the medication for a six-month trip.
Detained in Dubai confirmed Coppins has since been bailed from jail but remains in Dubai after his passport was confiscated.
Tourist Jamie Harron was also sentenced to three months in jail in Dubai after touching a man's hip in a bar.
