Guest who threatened to blow up Dubai hotel given suspended jail sentence

DUBAI// A hotel guest who drunkenly told staff he was a member of ISIS and threatened to blow up the building was given a three-month suspended jail sentence by Dubai Criminal Court.

On October 4 this year M A, 47, from Saudi Arabia, called the receptionist at the InterContinental Hotel in Festival City and claimed he had explosives and would detonate them from his room.

Prosecutors said M A was drunk when he made the call to 30-year-old A A from Egypt.

“It was nearly 5.30pm when the man called and said he was from ISIS, then demanded that we send someone to his room or else he would bomb the place,” testified A A.

Police were called and arrested M A who was charged with issuing threats to bomb a hotel and with consuming alcohol without a license.

In court earlier this month, he confessed to drinking alcohol but denied issuing threats. “I do not remember what happened, I was very drunk and unaware of anything. When I became aware I found myself at Al Rashidiya police station,” said M A.

The court convicted M A of both charges and sentenced him to three months in jail, suspended. He was also fined Dh2,000 for drinking alcohol.

He will be deported.

salamir@thenational.ae

Juvenile arthritis

Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.