A crime reporter's dream

Someone who read the "Price of Justice" item posted earlier -- about two bothers who got only three years for murder after they paid blood money to the victim's family -- asked what would have happened if the brothers had been sisters?

I must say, I have no idea. I've never heard of a female being involved in a violent crime here.

In fact, there's very little violent crime. This is by far the safest place I've ever lived. You can walk the streets at 2 in the morning with no fear of being mugged or accosted. You can get money from an ATM without looking over your shoulder.

Bad things do happen, of course -- murder, drugs, prostitution. It's just that they don't seem to happen nearly as often as in the States. And stranger-on-stranger crimes are rare.

Most of the crime is of the white-collar variety. There are lots of bribery and embezzlement trials, sensational cases involving millions of dollars. Businessmen and government officials are always trying to work an angle, it seems, especially in Dubai.

Other crimes often have interesting twists that would make a crime reporter salivate. Imagine what Edna Buchanan would have done with these stories:

-- Two men stole 2 million dirhams from another man after blowing chili powder in his face and pushing him out of their car.

-- A gang of five stole a suitcase filled with gold, shipped it to Costa Rica disguised as car parts, and hopped a plane to Hong Kong. The inept criminals left so many clues, police solved the crime before their plane landed.

-- A Jordanian man stole a Russian tourist’s passport and held it for ransom.

-- Two men were caught selling $1 million in counterfeit bills for only $19,000. Why so cheap? Someone had spilled black paint on the fake money.

-- A Nepalese gang armed with swords and knives jumped from the back of a pickup truck and attacked police who were raiding a brothel.

-- A salesman faced up to 10 years in jail for doctoring a parking permit so he could avoid a $40 fine.

-- And a man who was stabbed repeatedly, robbed and left for dead was sentenced to six months in prison because when police took him to the hospital, he presented a fake ID card.

Now that is being tough on crime!