Monday, May 29, 2006

In Dubai, shooting at people is 'normal'?

According to Gulf News today:

Dubai police refuse to confirm whether British boy is in custody

Staff Report

Dubai: Dubai police sources refused to confirm or deny until late last night whether or not the British boy who was believed to be drunk when he used his airgun against the 35-year-old Pakistani gardener, Gulzar Hussain, was detained in police custody.


Meanwhile, sources did not confirm whether the case has been referred to the public prosecution as yet.
A senior police official confirmed to Gulf News that it is unlikely for the police to detain a suspect for such 'very normal incidents'. He criticised some of the newspapers for overplaying and publishing splashy news describing the incident as an 'ordinary misunderstanding'.

Hussain said it took the police about five hours to convince the Briton to hand over his airgun.

This one is a bit strange.
First, its by-line is 'Staff Report', which is what they use when they reprint press releases word-for-word.
Second, the other papers' updates on the incident have nothing about a shooting being called a 'normal incident' or 'ordinary misunderstanding'.
Third, the 'senior police official' is anonymous.

Hmmmm...if indeed a 'senior police official' commented on the incident, let's hope that he was misquoted.

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