Five men get two years for stealing

System to notify police command centres in Abu Dhabi

Agang of five men have been sentenced to two years in jail for stealing gold jewellery worth Dh250,000 and Dh70,000 in cash from a Dubai villa.

According to the Dubai Court of First Instance, the 40-year-old South African defendant was caught in less than 24 hours after robbing a villa in the Al Rashidiya area with four other defendants.

He was arrested at Dubai International Airport while trying to flee the country.

According to the court record, they broke into villa in August last year and stole gold jewellery worth Dh250,000 and Dh70,000 in cash kept in a safe. The 37-year-old Emirati villa owner testified that he had left house in the afternoon to attend a funeral in Abu Dhabi and returned after midnight to discover the robbery. “Police told me the suspects had broken into the villa from a window,” the Emirati victim said.

After 12 hours, Dubai Police summoned him to identify the stolen safe. A policeman said that they had caught one of the defendants at Dubai Airport before he could leave the country. “He confessed to robbing several houses along with the other suspects. We found the stolen items and arrested the other suspects also.”

An electronic in-vehicle system that automatically notifies the Police in case of an accident has been launched in Abu Dhabi.

The eCall system was demonstrated by the Abu Dhabi Police last week — UAE Innovation Week 2021 — as part of a series of innovations it has undertaken.

“The new system accelerates accident response times by automatically providing accident information to the nearest police command and control rooms in the emirate. It sends vehicle and geographical data, and even automates voice connectivity with traffic officials,” the Police said.

Using the information, traffic officials can reach the site of the accident faster, which can further help reduce the rate of fatalities and ensure prompt provision of emergency services.

In December 2019, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and Abu Dhabi Police had announced that all new vehicles coming to the UAE would be equipped with in-vehicle system that have eCall functionality.