Free flight ploy ends in jail

Some people will do anything for a free flight. Instead of waiting for the airline to screw up, Arthur David Proskin used a bump by the beverage cart as his ticket to glory … and hopefully anywhere in the continental United States. He used what was probably an accident to shout obscenities at the flight attendant who so egregiously wronged him (hint for the tone-deaf, this is sarcasm) and other passengers.

Well, Proskin has learned that wishes do come true. And you better be careful what you … blah, blah, blah.

The guy’s headed to jail. He hatched his plan on a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Palm Springs, CA and caused it to be diverted to Midland International Airport. On the ground , the gump was arrested.

“Free” won’t be in this 44-year-old’s vocabulary for another 2 ½ years. A guilty plea back in October made sure of that.

What’s the moral of the story? Since a lot of jails actually charge for room and board (at least here in New York), there’s no such thing as a free lunch.


Adultery can get you jail time in South Korea

It is a news headline you’d expect to see in a theocratic Islamic nation in the Middle East: “Actress given 8 months in jail for adultery.” But, this time, the headline could refer to the case of South Korean actress Ok So-ri.

The Korean adultery law was created in 1953 and has been upheld despite four major challenges over the past two decades. In Ok’s case, the judges denied her arguement that the current law was an invasion of privacy and had “degenerated into a means of revenge by the spouse, rather than a means of saving a marriage.” Despite the possibility of a two year sentence, Ok was given a eight month suspended sentence. Her lover, a Korean pop star, was given a six month suspended sentence. Neither will spend time in jail. The judge’s reasoning: adultery is damaging to the country’s social order.

According to the BBC, a recent survey showed that 70% of men and 12% of women have admitted to having sex outside of marriage. Ironic, especially given Ok’s statements about the law being used by spouses for revenge.

[via SMH)

Sex on the beach couple out of jail in Dubai

Remember the names Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors? They are the two Brits who weren’t really a couple until they met at a champagne brunch in Dubai, got drunk, and then proceeded to get frisky on a beach. Before that party, they didn’t know each other. After they became better acquainted after a cocktail or two, or who knows how many, their friskiness got them much international attention and jail time.

I sort of stood up for Ms. Palmer in an earlier post this summer before all the news came out that perhaps she had been warned by the police to stop her frolicking with Mr. Acors because what they were doing looked a like having sex. Instead of listening to the men in blue, or whatever colors the police wear in Dubai, she kept on with her male companion, who from the sounds of it, had about as much sense as she did. The two have claimed innocence to the sex part. Kissing? Yes. Nookie? No.

Regardless of what really went on, as Josh later posted these two were given a three-month sentence. I found out at Jaunted that these two are leaving Dubai after avoiding jail time. Instead of jail, their behavior will cost each them the equivalent of $272 and deportation. [Here’s an L.A. Times article with more info.]

That’s not such a bad amount of money, but I bet neither of them will look at an expanse of sand the same way again.

And for the rest of you who feel like a bit of friskiness on the beach, it can get you jail time. Really. Even in the U.S., sex on the beach can get you in trouble. If not jail time, there may be a world of embarrassment in your future.

Dubai Sex-on-the-Beach Couple Sentenced to Three Months in Jail

It has not been a good summer for Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors. The couple’s seaside tryst has turned into a courtroom drama complete with medical evidence and appeals. The two British citizens, despite the best efforts of their lawyers, and despite the black-eye it will give to Dubai’s tourist industry, have been sentenced to three months in prison. Their lawyer claims that an appeal is possible. The three month sentence (followed by immediate deportation) is much lighter than the six years possible under the emirate’s laws.

If this was an isolated incident, perhaps caused by an over-zealous prosecutor, it wouldn’t be more than tabloid fodder. However, as Jerry pointed out here at Gadling a couple of weeks ago, this is not an isolated case. Even carrying the natural, over the counter sleep aid Melatonin is reason enough to get you in trouble with the authorities in Dubai.

Palmer and Acors will be in jail for three months. Then, they’ll be deported, and most likely get their 15 minutes of fame. Perhaps Palmer can even turn the whole experience into a book deal or sell the rights to a movie studio. Dubai, on the other hand, will have to overcome the negative press it received from this case, and all the other cases that this one has brought attention too.

Avoid a layover in Dubai at all costs

A British traveler traveling through Dubai International Airport on a layover has just been sentenced to four years in a United Arab Emirate jail.

You’re probably thinking he did something crazy like punched a flight attendant, as Iva wrote about yesterday. You’ll never believe this: he was arrested for having a microscopic bit of marijuana on the bottom of his shoe.

The marijuana–which is strictly illegal in the UAE–weighed in at 0.003 grams, which is invisible to human eyes. But apparently the custom agents there practice a even harsher form of racial profiling than the American TSA folks.

Here are some more outrageous cases:

  • One man has been jailed for possession of three poppy seeds left over from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow Airport. Painkiller codeine is also banned.
  • A 25-year-old Briton who was found with a similar speck in one pocket as he arrived on holiday has been awaiting sentence since November.
  • A Big Brother TV executive has so far been held without charge for five days after being arrested for possessing the health supplement melatonin.