Jobless man impersonates friend to buy phones

DUBAI: The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced on Sunday a jobless Khaleeji man to six months in prison to be followed by deportation for impersonating the plaintiff by using his identification documents to buy three smart phones.

According to the police records, the defendant asked his friend (plaintiff) to do him a favour and give him his ID card and Homat Al Watan card to use them in a hospital for the treatment of his son.

However, he used them to apply for new postpaid SIM cards through which he obtained three mobile phones.

He impersonated his friend using his identification documents and forged his signature on the application forms at the telecommunication company.

The victim was left shocked when he was notified of Dhs20,000 due bills by the telecommunications company. He visited the company’s branch and informed that he did not buy those SIM cards nor the phones and that someone must have impersonated him and forged his signature.

The employee who completed the transaction was able to recognise the defendant as he always visited the branch of the company. He was thereby arrested and referred to the judicial departments.

In another case, two Asian drivers were referred to the Criminal Court over stealing electric cables worth Dhs35,000 in return for Dhs120.

They were hired by two others (fugitives) to steal the cables against Dhs50 for the first and Dhs70 for the second, the Court heard.

The first defendant admitted that he had agreed to commit the robbery in favour of the fugitives in return for Dhs50. He sneaked into an under construction site owned by a company (plaintiff), cut the cables worth Dh35,000 and loaded them on two pickups. The second defendant also confessed to the robbery in complicity with the first against a sum of Dhs70.