Avoid jail by paying fines in your local corner shop

Brian Moore, Dubai, 1999

According to the Irish Times, People fined in the courts will soon be able to pay the penalty in their local shop while buying their groceries.

Under a new plan, the Courts Service is seeking for 480 retail outlets nationwide to participate in the new system of fines payment. It is estimated that retailers will accept as many as 93,000 fine payments each year.

One of the objectives of the new legislation is to reduce the number of people sent to prison each year and will allow people pay by installment.

As the pic shows, retailers in Dubai were way ahead of the curve on this one back in 1999...