Dubai 'sex on beach' woman to face court

A British woman caught having drunken sex on a beach in Dubai is to be charged with three offences, police said yesterday.

Michelle Palmer faces up to six years in jail if found guilty of having a sexual affair, public indecency and insulting a police officer.

Prosecutors have yet to decide what charges  -  if any  -  will be laid against Kent businessman Vince Acors, the man she romped with on the sand of Jumeirah beach after an all-day drinking binge.

Miss Palmer, 36, a publishing manager from Peterborough, will face a Dubai court once she has been formally charged. She has already been sacked from her £28,000-a-year tax-free job with ITP Publishing.

Miss Palmer and Mr Acors, 34, met eight days ago at a weekly champagne brunch at Le Meridien hotel in Dubai, which is something of a tradition among expats.

Extremely drunk a few hours later, Miss Palmer went for a walk along the shore with her companion, a telecoms firm director from Bromley who has a son of seven.

A police officer spotted the couple having sex on the sand and let them off with a caution. But they ignored the warning and were arrested when the officer returned to the scene.

According to police sources, Miss Palmer launched an angry tirade at the policeman after being disturbed for a second time. She is alleged to have hurled abuse and tried to hit him with her high-heeled shoe before being restrained and taken to a cell

Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer romped on the beach

Sex outside marriage is illegal in the Islamic federation of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai police chief Major General Khamis Mattar al Mazeina said: 'The United Arab Emirates has certain traditions and values and is an Islamic country.

'It does not tolerate such behaviour and everyone must respect our culture as we respect theirs.'

Police are so concerned about the city's drunken daytime parties that they are intending to mount a special 'brunch patrol' to catch misbehaving Britons.

Undercover officers will be posted in hotel restaurants on Friday afternoons, a time when most local Muslims are at the mosque but the top hotels host lavish parties  -  and most of the trouble occurs.

Expat entertainment: Another champagne brunch at Le Meridien Hotel, Dubai

Yesterday the party went on at the hotel where Miss Palmer's troubles began.

Even in Dubai, a city legendary for its excess, brunch at Le Meridien is a byword for alcoholic over-indulgence. Bored British, Australian and American expats gorge themselves on all-you-can-drink champagne from midday.

It is not hard to work out the appeal of Le Meridien's brunch offering.

For just over £50, you are served as much Taittinger champagne as you can possibly drink. Or spend an extra £9.50 and you can drink a never-ending glass of Bollinger.

To soak up the alcohol, there is an enormous buffet featuring glistening mounds of lobster, seared beef and kangaroo steaks.

From the start, there is a raucous party atmosphere. The champagne stops at 3.30pm ... just as a four-and-a-half hour long 'happy hour' starts at the bar.

As the early afternoon draws on, and the disco and rock music grows louder, the event inevitably degenerates into an all-out disco.

Yesterday, yards away in the hotel's lobby, a family of traditionally dressed Emiratis quietly sipped tea, no doubt inured by now to the chaos surrounding them.