Dubai: A salesman has been jailed for three months for offering a Dh400 bribe to a traffic inspector after he was caught using his private vehicle for carpooling in August.
The 31-year-old Indian salesman, N.B., is believed to have offered the Yemeni inspector at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) a bribe in return for not fining him for carrying three passengers in his car.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted N.B. of bribing the RTA inspector despite having entered a not guilty plea.
“I did not offer him a bribe … I did give him money but as part of the fine for the traffic violation that I committed. It was not a bribe,” argued N.B. when he defended himself before the court.
Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi said: “The bribe money [Dh400] will be confiscated and the convict will pay a Dh1,000 fine.”
The inspector testified that he is commissioned to check on traffic violations committed by taxi and private car drivers.
“I saw the defendant with three African passengers in his private car at Al Nahda around 7pm. I asked him to park at the side of the road … when I asked him about the three men, he claimed that they were his friends. However, when I asked him their names, he did not answer. I suspected that he must have been carpooling when I saw one of the men paying him money.
“Meanwhile, the Africans told me that N.B. offered them a paid lift to Al Nahda for Dh20. The defendant begged me not to issue him a ticket claiming that he would lose his job. He offered to pay me money. I immediately called up a police patrol that happened to be nearby,” claimed the inspector.
Records said the defendant was taken into custody.
Wednesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
