Polish tourist jailed, deported for urinating in public in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Answering nature’s call in full public view on the busy Al Maktoum bridge has cost a Polish tourist dearly.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Answering nature’s call in full public view on the busy Al Maktoum bridge has cost a Polish tourist dearly.

What was to be a six-day maiden trip to Dubai turned into ordeal for Milosz Poprawski when the offence landed him in jail followed by deportation.

Speaking to XPRESS from his hometown Krakow, the graphic designer said he regrets his mistake but couldn’t help it as he suffers from a medical condition. “I wish I had read up on what’s allowed and what’s not in the UAE,” rued Poprawski, who was on diuretics on the day of the incident.

Poprawski said he was traveling in a private taxi to Deira from his hotel in the Palm to celebrate his 30th birthday over a dhow dinner when he felt the urge to relieve himself.

“We had already spent over two hours on the road because of heavy traffic and the medicine had worsened my condition,” he added.

Poprawski said he was left with no choice but to dash out of the cab as the driver wouldn’t stop despite repeated requests.

“I had no clue of where we were and what could be the implications. I had come to the brink and just couldn’t care anymore,” he said.

However, as luck would have it, he was caught in the act on camera and reported to the police by a man driving a Rolls Royce.

Poprawski’s cabbie who was also hauled to a police station recalled: “It was around 7.30pm. We were barely crawling when suddenly my passenger darted out of the car. The next thing I knew he was urinating on the sidewalk of Al Maktoum Bridge in full public view. As I pulled up the car on the side and waited for him, the Rolls Royce motorist filmed him in the act and also took a picture of my registration plate,” he said.

“Minutes later I got a call asking me to report to Muraqqabat police station with my passport. I was told I would get it back only after I brought the tourist along,” said the cabbie.

He said he waited for Poprawski to return from the dhow cruise and convinced him to go to the police station with his passport. “It took three hours as we had to drive to his hotel to pick up his passport,” he said.

But what followed came as a shocker to Poprawski. “A case was registered against me and I had to spend 10 days in jail and pay a fine of Dh1,000. However had it not been for some really helpful people, I would have been in the UAE for months,” said Poprawski.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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