News: Ouch: Man fined for wearing UAE military uniform to a costume party

A man has been hauled before a court after borrowing a friend’s military uniform to go to a fancy dress party.

The 32-year-old Indian told the Court of Misdemeanours that his Emirati friend, who is a soldier in UAE army, loaned him the clothing for a Halloween party at Atlantis last November.
The defendant said he finished off the outfit by adding a bulletproof vest, boots and a hat he bought from a tailor for Dhs180/$50.
“I took my father’s desert boots and bought the bulletproof vest on ebay, which my uncle brought over for me from the UK,” he said. “I just wore it for the party to complete my uniform.”
He said he drove from his home in Bur Dubai to Atlantis wearing the uniform, arriving about 9.30pm. He eventually left at 3am. He added: “The party was for more than 40 people and some of them were wearing the military uniforms of other countries.
“Two policemen stopped me and asked me how I got the uniform then arrested me.”
Initially, he claimed he bought the uniform from a shop, but eventually admitted he borrowed it from his friend.The soldier, who is 21, claimed he did not know that his friend was going to wear the uniform at the Halloween party. Instead, he said, the Indian told him he was doing a project about military uniforms, so he gave him one of his old ones.
Both men were fined Dhs2,000/$548. The Indian was convicted of illegally wearing a uniform, while the soldier was guilty of criminal abetting.