Dubai: A jobless man has been jailed for a year for trespassing into a villa while its tenants were on holiday and trying to steal a safe that contained valuables worth Dh87,000

The 44-year-old Emirati man climbed over the fence and broke one of the windows with a hammer before going up to the German tenant’s bedroom and trying to open the safe in August.

The British neighbour’s Filipina maid heard the sound of glass breaking at 2.30am. She jumped out of bed and instantly called the police once she saw the man in the neighbouring villa.

Records said the safe contained three wristwatches, jewellery and cash.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Emirati defendant of breaking the glass window, trespassing into the villa and trying to steal valuables and personal papers.

The German tenant testified that his Filipina maid, who was on leave in her country, told him that she had received an SMS from the Briton’s maid telling her what had happened.

“I was spending my holiday back home when my maid texted me saying that our neighbour’s maid had informed her that she had spotted the thief standing in my garden. Thereafter I called up my brother and asked him to go and check what had happened. When he reached my villa, the police had already arrived at the scene,” the tenant said.

The British neighbour’s maid said she heard the sound of glass breaking when she was in bed at 2.30am.

“I woke up surprised. When I looked outside the window, I spotted the thief who wore a black outfit. I realised he was a thief because I knew that our neighbours were away on holiday … I called the police right away. The defendant ran away,” she said.

A police sergeant testified that the Emirati was apprehended in Sharjah a month later.

“He was the primary suspect. During questioning, the defendant admitted that he had left a hotel that night and needed money. He confessed that he drove towards Mirdif area and broke into that villa … he said he broke the glass of a window and sneaked inside. He said that he did not find any valuables to steal from the ground floor and, when he went up, he found the safe. The defendant confessed that he left the safe behind and fled once he heard a noise from the neighbouring villa,” the sergeant said.

Wednesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.