Dubai: Two hotel staff surprised a court on Wednesday when they asked for permission to testify that their colleague is an honest man who couldn’t have stolen Dh1,600 from a guest’s room.

Prosecutors charged the 21-year-old Pakistani colleague, S.O., who works as cleaner at a hotel, with stealing Dh1,600 from a British guest’s room on August 31.

Shortly before the Dubai Court of First Instance’s presiding judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi meted out the charges against S.O., the latter’s boss and coworker approached the judges’ bench and requested permission to defend the suspect.

“Who are you and what do you want?” presiding judge Al Mahdi asked the European female boss and her Asian co-worker.

The two told the court that they wanted to testify before the court.

Shortly after S.O. entered a not guilty plea, presiding judge Al Mahdi granted the Asian co-worker permission to address the court.

“I am a public relations officer and I’ve known the suspect for nearly six months. He has never committed a wrongdoing. Nobody has ever complained against him. He is a decent and respectful worker. The plaintiff had a number of guests in his room. We don’t know how the money disappeared, but it is impossible for an upright person like S.O. to have committed such an act. I don’t know why the Briton accused the suspect of robbing his money from the room,” testified the co-worker.

Meanwhile the defendant’s supervisor said when she approached the bench: “S.O. works for me. Any guest has a private safe to put his valuable belongings inside it. The suspect is a very honest person. There are no cameras inside the rooms and the plaintiff accused S.O. We did not find anything in his room or cabinet when we searched S.O.’s residence.”

The British complainant testified that when he returned from breakfast he found that the suspect cleaning his room around 10.55am.

“When I left the hotel and went to rent a car, I discovered that my money was missing. I summoned the police that discovered that the defendant had entered the room while I was away,” said the Briton.

An Emirati policeman said surveillance cameras showed that the suspect opened the door and walked into the room.

The defendant admitted that he entered the room to clean it.

A verdict will be heard on Wednesday.