Dubai: Influencer gets Dh5,000 fine for insulting private hospital on social media

The Dubai Court of Appeal upheld a ruling by the Criminal Court of First Instance which convicted a social media influencer of Gulf nationality for offending a private hospital on her Instagram account.

The defendant was fined Dh5,000 by the court and was asked to remove the video which contained offensive language used against the hospital.

Hospital management said that the woman had posted the video and called it the worst. They added that she used hurtful language and said that it did not deserve to be a hospital. She criticised its license which offended the staff.

The hospital said that she also posted a poll for her followers asking them to vote on whether or not they thought it was the worst hospital. They added that she incited her followers to abuse the facility as her mother was admitted to the hospital and saw changes in her skin after a blood sample was taken.

When questioned by Public Prosecution, she denied the charges and said that she had merely posted about an incident with her mother, which the hospital took as an insult.

She also said that she had filed a complaint with the hospital management regarding her mother's situation. However, when she called to follow-up on the same after two weeks, the hospital said that they were not at fault and it is normal for the skin colour to change after a needle is inserted. So, she then removed the videos she had posted online.

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