Dubai: Two workers have been jailed for one year for stealing a man’s bicycle that was locked to the racks of a metro station and selling it for Dh150.
The Pakistani workers, 34-year-old M.H. and 32-year-old M.A., cut the locks of the Filipino man’s bicycle and later sold the stolen bicycle for cheap in Sharjah in April.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted M.H. and M.A. of theft and wrecking the lock.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty before the court.
According to Thursday’s ruling, presiding judge Urfan Omar said the two accused will be deported after serving their jail terms.
M.A. was sentenced in absentia.
The defendants broke the lock and stole the bicycle using iron scissors that the court ordered seized.
The Filipino testified that he locked his bicycle at the bicycles racks at Shaikh Zayed Road’s metro station and went to work at 10am.
“When I returned at 3pm, I discovered that the lock had been cut and my bicycle had been stolen,” he told prosecutors.
A police sergeant said police identified the defendants from the surveillance cameras installed at the station.
“M.H. had cut the lock and stolen the bicycle while M.A. kept look out for him. We monitored the spot for around a month until the defendants reappeared on May 18. They stood beside the racks at 4pm and they seemed like they were waiting for an opportunity to steal another bicycle. We took them into custody and headed to the police station for further questioning. Upon searching them, we found a small iron scissors in their possession. During questioning, M.H. admitted that he used to cut locks and steal bicycles while M.A. would keep watch … then they would sell each stolen bicycle for Dh150 in Sharjah,” he testified.
M.H.’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
