Instant justice for using foul language
By M. A. Qudoos

1 November 2005



SHARJAH — Applying the principle of instant justice, Sharjah Police made a woman passenger beat a taxi driver in the streets in public for using vulgar language when she told the driver to drive safely.


The woman, Beena Soni, a Sharjah-based Jalabiah designer, was travelling with a woman relative in the taxi a few days ago. The driver applied the brakes suddenly, resulting in the women banging against the front seat.

Beena told the driver to drive carefully and not to apply brakes suddenly because it hurt them. "The driver, in turn, used vulgar words," she told Khaleej Times. She asked the driver to stop the taxi, and called the police. When the police arrived, the driver denied using vulgar words but the police did not accept it.

"You can lodge a formal complaint. We can lock him up. He could even be jailed," the police told Beena.

"I do not want to cause long-term problems to the driver, but he should actually be beaten up so that he does not use bad language again," she replied.

"Then beat him," the police said.

Beena sought advice from her brother over the phone who also gave her the go-ahead.

The police told the crowd to move away while she started beating the driver with her bare hands.

"After that, I felt relieved since the driver had been punished for his wrongdoing," she said.