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A man in Dubai has been jailed for two months after police caught him wearing an abaya, niqab and black gloves and carrying a handbag on a street.
The Dubai Misdemeanour Court convicted the 35-year-old Frenchman, K.K., of cross-dressing.
He was also pronounced guilty of using a different name during a police investigation, by claiming he was an Algerian named A.J.
The Frenchman claimed he dressed in the abaya to steal jewellery and sell it to repay a €1 million (Dh4.6 million) debt he had accumulated in Paris.
Records said K.K. was spotted walking on the street before police arrested him when they realised he could be a man. When the defendant appeared in court, he pleaded not guilty.
The accused will be deported following the completion of his prison term.
Two policemen who found the man said all they could see was his eyes.
A police officer ordered K.K. to stop when he noticed that he was walking like a man. The suspect did not reply and continued walking into a shop. The policemen followed him inside and when one of them tried to speak to him, K.K. spoke like a woman.
When the policemen insisted he was a man and asked him to remove his niqab, they were surprised to see a man with a long beard.
Police searched his handbag and confiscated a toy gun, a knife and plastic tape in his possession.
During prosecution questioning, K.K. claimed he was a merchant but had suffered a major financial loss and accumulated €1 million in debt in Paris.
“I visited Dubai to steal diamonds then sell it to be able to cover my debts. I took my wife’s abaya and niqab when I came here. I purchased the confiscated items from the Mall of the Emirates. I stood in front of the shop that I was planning to rob before the policemen suspected me. My debt is what urged me to do this… I dressed up like a woman to steal,” claimed K.K.
