In 2007, two people were fined and jailed for a month after kissing and hugging in public in Dubai.[56] In 2008, Singapore's Media Development Authority fined cable firm StarHub after it broadcast an advertisement showing two women kissing.
In India, public display of affection is a criminal offense under Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 with a punishment of imprisonment of up to three months, or a fine, or both. This law was used by police and lower courts to harass and prosecute couples engaging in intimate acts, such as kissing in public.
However, in a number of landmark cases, the higher courts dismissed assertions that kissing in public is obscene.