Dubai Court upholds ruling on jail term for Asian

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Appellate Court upheld the ruling of the Court of First Instance to jail an Asian for a year, to be followed by deportation, besides a fine of Dhs308,000 on charges of conniving with fugitives, to stealing Dhs293,000 and a computer from an Asian businessman after luring him to a place to exchange dirhams for US dollars at a price lower than the market.

The court acquitted an Arab of the charge of conniving with the suspect, after the Court of First Instance sentenced him to imprisonment.

Details date back to January 2021, when the convict offered the victim to buy sums in US currency at less than the market price.

The victim said in interrogations that he met the convict in a place they agreed on but two vehicles stopped near his and people got down and attacked him. They threatened him with an iron hammer. Then they stole a bag containing Dhs293,000 and a computer and fled the scene.

According to the case papers, the criminal investigation team identified the convict who was arrested, and upon interrogation, he confessed to luring the businessman to buy US dollars at a lower price than the market, and that he connived with others, including an Arab national.

ASIAN SALESMAN IN THE DOCK: In another development, the Dubai Public Prosecution referred a 41-year-old Asian salesman to the Criminal Court on charges of facilitating drug abuse for others who were referred to the Misdemeanour Court, after obtaining them from a person he communicated with him via Facebook Messenger.

According to the case papers, which took place in June 2021, reliable information was received by the Dubai Police alerting that the suspect possessed narcotics and psychotropic substances.

A policeman testified in the interrogations that a team of investigations raided the residence of the suspect and others, and when grilled about possession of drugs at his home, he brought an iron box containing bags of crystalline substance. He admitted that it belonged to him and that he possessed it for consumption with the other suspects.  The policeman added that the suspect confessed that he obtained the drugs after communicating with a person via Facebook Messenger, where that person provided him with coordinates showing the location where he could get the drugs and in the same location, he used to leave the price.

The other suspects confessed that they abused drugs with the first, who provided them for free.

The Criminal Court ordered the continued imprisonment of the suspect.