A TikTok influencer has been arrested and accused of “abusing the internet” in Dubai over a video he made at a luxury car showroom, poking fun at wealthy customers.

Hamdan Al Rind, who refers to himself as the ‘Car Expert’, is seen in the video wearing a kandura robe,  sunglasses and a surgical mask, shouting clipped sentences at the dealership’s employees. 

This happens while his assistants haul around a stretcher filled with stacks of cash.

The comedic sketch, where he offers to buy the most expensive car — a Ferrari SF90, poked fun at the lavish lifestyles on display in the city.

The Federal Prosecution for Combating Rumours and Cybercrimes says he is accused of “abusing the internet” by posting “propaganda that stirs up the public opinion and harms the public interest.”

It said the video “promotes a wrong and offensive mental image of Emirati citizens and ridicules them,” the state-run WAM news agency reported on Sunday.

The video attracted millions of views before being taken down prior to his arrest.

It is not known exactly when he was arrested.

Ahmed Mansour owns the show room the video was shot in.

“He came in, he wanted to shoot a video, I said ‘yes’,” he told the Associated Press. 

“If it didn’t happen in my showroom, it probably would have happened somewhere else.”

‘Some people thought it was offensive, some people thought it was funny, everyone has their own opinion.”

“I thought he understood the law,” Mr Mansour said.

A cybercrime law enacted in January 2022 heavily restricts expression and assembly, and criminalises virtually any political opposition or anything that could harm the reputation of the United Arab Emirates.

Fifteen human rights groups have called for the law to be repealed or amended. 

On Sunday, the Interior Ministry announced an investigation into another video featuring two men in a high-end sports car stranded on a desert road.

The video shows a female Emirati police officer arriving at the scene and assisting them by sticking a gas pump into the ground and refilling their tank.

“In our country, no problem with gas,” she said. 

AP