Dubai: A carpenter, who sneaked through a window of a warehouse of the company where he worked and stole Dh6,900 cash from the safe, has been jailed for six months.
The Indian defendant, R.J., opened the window at the back of the warehouse of the company where he worked in Bur Dubai and stole the cash from the safe in June.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted R.J. of theft despite his having entered an innocent plea.
When he defended himself in court, R.J. contended that he did not steal anything from his workplace.
“I did not take anything,” he told the presiding judge as he presented a written defence in which he asked to be acquitted.
According to Thursday’s ruling, the accused will be deported after serving his jail term.
The company’s Indian owner testified that on the day of the incident he discovered Dh6,900 missing from the safe.
“I am a business partner and the company’s manager. The money was stolen from the accounting office. We notified the police instantly and, two days later, the suspect was under suspicion. Police apprehended R.J. and, during questioning, he admitted that, on a Wednesday evening, he sneaked in through a window that was left slightly open, walked into the accounting office and took the cash,” the owner told prosecutors.
The defendant was cited as confessing to prosecutors that he entered the warehouse and took the cash. However, when he appeared in court he retracted his confession and pleaded not guilty.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.