Filipino couple appeals ‘premarital sex’ sentence in Dubai

A Filipino couple in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is appealing a three-month jail sentence and deportation order for allegedly having premarital sex.

According to a report by Gulf News, the 28-year-old Filipina was rushed to the hospital last December after she experienced pregnancy pains. She later learned that she had an ectopic pregnancy and told the medical staff that she and her 27-year-old Filipino partner were not married but engaged. The child passed away while she was at the hospital.

Following her revelation, the hospital tipped the police and they arrested the couple for allegedly having sex out of wedlock.

The couple, who were sentenced by the Dubai Misdemeanors Court in April, pleaded not guilty before the Dubai Court of Appeals and insisted that they were married during the time of the incident, a claim supported by their lawyer Eisa bin Haider.

According to the Filipina, she and her husband hailed from the same province in the Philippines and knew each other for eight years before she lived with him in Dubai Gardens. Moreover, she was unaware of her pregnancy until she was admitted to the hospital.

Bin Haider furnished judge Adnan Al Farra a photocopy of the couple’s Philippine marriage contract and asked for an adjournment until the couple submits a notarized marriage contract.

According to the report, the trial will resume at a later date.  Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra/rga