Man arrested for Rolls Royce viral video, likely to get jail

dubai — A man has been detained by the Dubai police after a video he uploaded showing Rolls Royce of Balwinder Sahni with car plate bearing Number D5 allegedly parked illegally, went viral.

As per UAE Cybercrime Law No. 5 of 2012, the man could face up to six months in jail and face fines of between Dh150,000 and Dh300,000 for uploading the video.

Earlier this week, Sahni was left “embarrassed” after the video circulated online accusing his driver of illegally parking the car in a disabled bay in Dubai.

The news spread quickly as Sahni is the owner of the Dh33 million D5 number plate which he purchased at an auction last month.

After the police were alerted of the video, his driver was issued a Dh1,000 fine and four black points.

But Sahni quickly refuted the claims saying it was “not parked in the bay”.

“I had many bags carrying heavy catalogues, so the driver pulled up for about 30 seconds so we could load the car,” he told Khaleej Times earlier.

But on Thursday afternoon, Sahni said he got some justice.

The Dubai police informed him that they had caught the perpetrator who uploaded the video, after Sahni filed a case against him. “They told me the man worked in Aspen Tower where the car was parked and he was arrested just an hour or so ago. He is at Al Barsha police station. What he did was a sheer violation of the cyber law.”

Sahni said he felt good that “swift

It was wrong of the young man to videograph without a permit which is a violation of the law Colonel Yousuf Al Adedi, Director of Al Barsha police station

action” had been taken. “I feel like Dubai Police have given my rights back, I want to thank them.” Since the video was uploaded, Sahni said he received hundreds of calls about the unfortunate incident which was “misconstrued by the public”.

“Maybe this will deter people from taking my picture and video and using it to create negative stories. I will never say no to people who want to take my photo but please don’t use it out of context to draw attention.”

The video has created a lot of interest worldwide since going viral earlier this week and was picked up in Moscow and the US.

According to the UAE Cybercrime Law issued by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, fines can range from between Dh50,000 and Dh3 million, depending on the type of offence.

Those caught using technology to invade someone else’s privacy or publish news, like in this case, can be jailed for six months and face fines of between Dh150,000 and Dh300,000.

kelly@khaleejtimes.com