The arrest of Michelle Palmer exposes the double standards of a land which claims to take a hard line on immoral behaviour yet often turns a blind eye to it.
Here a British writer who lives in Dubai, and wishes to remain anonymous, details the changing face of the Muslim state.
Jailed: DJ Grooverider, real name Raymond Bingham, was jailed for four years in Dubai after being caught with a small amount of cannabis
Ten years ago, Dubai was a simple Arab port where - if you were British - you could put your hand to almost any kind of work, be well paid for it and have a nice, if restricted life.
It attracted particular kinds of expat: oil workers and executives on three-year contracts with multi-national companies.
The former brought their girlfriends; the latter brought their wives but left their children in public school. Both generally left with a different woman in tow.
There were also the bar staff, engineers, shop managers, public relations executives and hoteliers looking for adventure.
Many were misfits running away from their past back home.
They behaved badly, lewdly, crudely, as British expats do everywhere. There were prostitutes - lots of them, until the government cracked down on the trade in the late 1990s.
But there was a universal respect for police and people kept their bad behaviour more or less behind closed doors.
They understood the rules: stay more or less on the right side of the law. And if caught on the wrong side, apologise profusely.
Even drink-driving was tolerated if you were British. If caught, sufficient grovelling civility would generally receive the stern but courteous advice of 'Get a taxi, sir!'.
This made Dubai police seem like the best in the world - akin to the old British bobby.
Today, however, there is a very different kind of Brit here who doesn't play by the old rules.
Many have been sold the dream of a tax-free life - with year-round sunshine and great shopping to boot.
They came in droves eight or nine years ago as the Dubai marketing pitch accelerated and life in Britain got pricier.
Add the freehold property boom bringing in those looking for that terrace in the sun, and suddenly there were more than 100,000 Britons living here.
But with such numbers came trouble. There are gangsters and fraudsters, the football hooligans, drunks treating the place like their home town on Saturday night.
The beaches and sunny lifestyle have attracted over 100,000 expats from Britain
Such behaviour leads to an arrogant attitude which makes them feel above the law.
It is intriguing that, initially, the policeman gave Michelle Palmer a caution, but arrested her when he caught her a second time.
It was a demonstration of the kind of lunacy which has become so common among expatriate Britons.
No police force is filled with saints. But as police forces go, Dubai's has managed to keep the spirit of fairness and tolerance instilled in it when it was set up in the 1960s.
The problem now is the city is growing so fast, the police are having to be the good Samaritan to tourists and deal with much weightier levels of crime at the same time.
It's a difficult task. And one that's not helped by drunken residents or holidaymakers.
Of course, traditionally strict Muslim attitudes to alcohol and sex are relaxed in respect of foreigners - providing that only foreigners are involved.
Even so, the tolerance isn't that elastic. Anyone caught bringing drugs into the country will receive a minimum sentence of four years. Also, anyone drink-driving will be taken to court and possibly deported as well as being given a fine.
It's about time that expats and the new generation of tourists in Dubai started coming to terms with this.
Source: Daily Mail UK, July 10, 2008 
Why arrogant Brits abroad won't play by Dubai's rules ... and end up rotting in prison 
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