Duo gets jail term for stealing Dh190,000 from hypermarket

Dubai: Two jobless men have been jailed for three years each after a court convicted them of breaking into a hypermarket and stealing Dh190,000 from a safe.

Prosecutors charged the duo, 28-year-old Iraqi J.Q and 46-year-old Iranian E.A, with breaking into a hypermarket in Al Muteena and stealing.

The burglars were accused of using an electric chainsaw and a screwdriver to break into the place and make a hole in the safe before walking away with the money. The crime was committed in October 2007.

Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout of the Dubai Court of First Instance said the defendants will be deported after the completion of their terms.

Coerced

The Iraqi convict claimed that some policemen cursed his parents and coerced him to admit.

"Some policemen beat me and cursed my mother and father and coerced me to confess to this crime although I was not involved in it. This is unfair," he argued.

"I have been groundlessly accused of carrying out a number of thefts which I did not commit. The complaints were foisted on me. Some policemen pressured me to confess to the heist which I was not involved in. I only admitted to one theft that I committed. I don't mind serving 25 years in jail, but it's unfair to be jailed in cases of thefts that I was not responsible for," J.Q. contended before the judge. E.A. also pleaded not guilty. "I know nothing about this incident," he said.

An Emirati police corporal testified that after the defendants' arrest, he accompanied them, separately, to the hypermarket to enact how they carried out the crime.

Tuesday's judgment remains subject to appeal within 15 days.

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Man arrested for stealing from bank customers

Dubai An African man was arrested for allegedly stealing from bank customers, Brigadier Khalil Al Mansouri, head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Dubai Police, announced on Wednesday.

The suspect used to allegedly follow customers, after they withdrew cash, before breaking into their cars to steal the money.

"Three reports were filed against this suspect in Dubai, and a fourth in a nearby emirate," Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Al Merri, head of the CID section, said.

The suspect allegedly used to keep an eye on any customer who withdrew cash and carried it in an envelope in an obvious manner.

Work pattern

He would then follow the person until he or she parked their car and stopped to run an errand.

The suspect would then break into the car by smashing a window and steal the money. He was arrested near a bank for suspicious behaviour.

In his confession, he said that negligent people had turned him into a thief because he could not resist the temptation.

"I tried once, twice and three times, and succeeded," he confessed.

Al Merri warned the public against negligence and urged them to be alert when dealing with large amounts of cash.

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