Sharjah: The Sharjah Appeal Court has found an Arab man guilty of insulting his wife after he sent offensive messages to her via WhatsApp, a lawyer told Gulf News on Wednesday.

The man has been fined Dh5,000 and will be deported, the court ruled.

Eman Sabt, the defendant’s legal counsel, said the couple in their 50s are of Arab nationality and have been married for more than 20 years.

The verdict was announced in absentia by Judge Obaid Mohammad Ebrahim Mubarak.

The couple were involved in a family dispute which turned into a verbal spat and culminated in the husband leaving the house.

He then sent offensive messages to his wife’s mobile phone via WhatsApp.

Soon after, the woman lodged a complaint with the Sharjah Court of First Instance accusing her husband of insulting her via WhatsApp.

She said “He texted me on WhatsApp messages that were full of offensive words.”

The primary court, in its ruling, ordered the husband to pay a fine of Dh5,000 but the public prosecution rejected the ruling and appealed it. The Sharjah Appeal Court ordered the deportation of the husband in addition to imposing Dh5,000 fine.

The man was prosecuted under the cybercrime law.