The British teenager, Marcus Fakana, who spent some time in Dubai jail for having consensual s£x with a fellow UK tourist, has died in an accident months after he was released.
Fakana died when a car he was a passenger in had a head-on collision with another car in north London.
The car was being driven by a 19-year-old man, who has now been taken into police custody for failing to stop when asked to by the police.
It would be recalled that Fakana landed in trouble last year when he had casual sex with a girl he met in Dubai.
The girl was on vacation with her family and stayed in the same hotel as Fakana and his own family.
Fakana’s dad was marking his birthday and took the entire family on a vacation in Dubai.
Everything was going fine until Fakana ran into the young woman, and they became friends.
She subsequently sneaked into his hotel room to have sex with him a few times while their two families were at the hotel.
How Marcus Fakana landed in trouble
After the girl returned to the UK, her mother found out through her phone that she had had sex with Fakana while they were in Dubai.
She was infuriated and called the authorities to report the incident, citing the fact that her daughter was a month shy of 18.
It is illegal to have sex with anyone under 18 in Dubai.
The issue of racism was raised during the case, as Fakana was of African descent while the girl’s family are Caucasian.
Many analysts argued that the girl’s mother took a hardline posture because the boy was black.
The police subsequently arrested Fakana, who was 18 at the time, tried him despite public protest and sent him to one year in a maximum-security prison.
His family continued to press for his release and succeeded in getting the British authorities involved.
In July this year, Fakana received a royal pardon from Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and was freed.
Accident cut short his joy
He had spent roughly three months of freedom in the UK when the tragic accident happened.
The embattled teenager, now 19, sustained “significant” injuries in the accident on Friday, October 3, 2025.
Describing how the accident happened, the police said they tried to stop a car “of interest” on Pretoria Road, Edmonton.
The car failed to stop, warranting the Metropolitan Police going after it. They said they had only pursued for approximately 60 seconds, when they lost them temporarily.
When the officers drove onto The Roundway, Tottenham, they discovered the car had been involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle escaped with minor injuries, while Fakana was badly injured. He was taken to the hospital, where he lost the battle for life.
The news of Fakana’s death was broken on X (Twitter) by Radha Stirling, the founder of Detained in Dubai, who advocated for his release.
Ms Stirling told the Daily Mail: “Marcus was thankful to have regained his freedom and was looking forward to building a positive future. My heartfelt condolences go to his family and friends at this difficult time.”
