Dubai: A shepherd has been accused of stealing six sheep from his boss’s farm and selling it in the cattle market.
Prosecutors accused the 32-year-old Bangladeshi shepherd, A.M., of stealing six sheep from his Emirati boss and selling them to a 61-year-old Pakistani shepherd, K.K.
The latter has been charged with possessing stolen sheep.
“I did not steal the sheep…” said A.M. when he entered an innocent plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
Meanwhile K.K. entered a not guilty plea contending that he was not aware that the sheep were stolen.
“Did you possess stolen sheep?” presiding judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi asked the Pakistani.
“No, I did not know. I bought them for Dh2,400 without realising that they were stolen from a farm,” claimed K.K.
An 80-year-old retired Emirati testified to prosecutors that he went to Al Ruwayah to buy some grass to feed his cattle.
“I saw a specific kind of sheep that looked like the ones I have at my farm. When I asked the man, who was selling me the grass, about the sheep, he told me that K.K. kept them at his farm. I tried to meet K.K. to buy the sheep, but he failed to show up. I reported to the police that the sheep were stolen,” claimed the retiree.
A police corporal claimed to prosecutors that he purchased the sheep from A.M.
“He admitted to me that he purchased the sheep for Dh2,400 from A.M. in a farm in Al Ruwayah. K.K. accompanied us in a police patrol to the farm where we arrested the Bangladeshi. The latter admitted that he and his friend stole the sheep from their boss’s farm. A.M. also admitted that his friend ran away,” claimed the corporal.
A ruling will be heard on February 26.
