Engineer cleared of duping man of Dh59K on street

dubai — The Court of Appeals has upheld the acquittal verdict of a 46-year-old Iranian man accused of stealing Dh59,000 on the street.

Prosecution records said the incident happened on March 6, 2015, in Al Muraqqabat.

The Court of Misdemeanors earlier cleared the defendant, who works as an executive engineer, of the charge of using a trick to steal others’ money.

However, the public prosecution appealed the primary verdict, seeking a conviction against the accused.

The complainant, a 42-yearold Omani PRO, said in his complaint that he was stopped by someone on the street, who requested to see the currency of the country. He took money out of his pocket to show it to the other man. Later, he realised some of his money was missing only after the other man left the place.

The accused was arrested based on some descriptions given by the complainant of the car the suspect was driving.

Representing the accused, Hani Hammouda of Kefah Al Zaabi for Advocacy and Legal Consultancy, argued that his client maintained a no-guilty plea throughout the trial and during the public prosecution investigation. “My client insisted he was not anywhere near the street where the incident occurred. The complainant himself testified under oath before the judges in the hearing that the defendant was not the same man who attacked him on the street and that he had never seen him before. He was asked three times by the presiding judge whether he could identify the accused and his answer was always negative.”

That led the judges to grow suspicious towards the validity of the charge laid against the accused. The court later acquitted him of the theft charge. The appellate court upheld that ruling.

mary@khaleejtimes.com