To be fair, Dubai is pretty open about the laws, the idiots who break them know what they are getting into. Accounts of brits being arrested for pissing in the streets, sorry but they deserve it. You wouldn't piss on the floor in your own house when drunk, yet it seems that a lot think it is ok to do so overseas. Might not get you arrested in China, but Dubai while not as strict as other islamic places, does have it's own house rules. When in China, you wouldn't break laws, just the same in that place. There have been enough cases and warnings, seems some people never learn. But yes, you are right, don't go there if you need money, I also feel it is madness.