Couple gets three-year jail term

By Nour Abuzant

AN American man and a South African teenager were given three-year jail terms after being caught in a compromising position in a public lavatory.

According to court papers, the couple was spied entering a female cubicle within the Aspire sports academy on the morning of February 16 last year.

An Egyptian watchman told investigators that he first saw the two accused kissing and talking to each other in an “indecent position” near the academy’s mosque.

He revealed: “The woman went to the female toilet and the man went after her and I became suspicious.”

The police were called and they arrested the two at the scene – and confiscated their clothes.

The 25-year-old Muslim American first claimed the 16-year-old was his girlfriend. On the advice of his lawyer, he later retracted the claim. The South African was tried in absentia after failing to show for the court case.

As well as handing down three-year prison terms, the court ordered the pair be deported after serving sentence. An appeal against the court’s decision has been lodged.

via Gulf Times – Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper – First Page.