UAE | Crime
Municipality officials give testimony in Fujairah land fraud case
The director of Fujairah Municipality appeared in court on Sunday in the third hearings of the land fraud case involving his predecessor.
- By Fuad Mohammed Ali, Staff Reporter
- Published: 18:03 December 21, 2008
Fujairah: The director of Fujairah Municipality appeared in court on Sunday in the third hearings of the land fraud case involving his predecessor.
Mohammad Saif Al Afkham was called in as a witness in the landmark trial of Fujairah Municipality's former director and seven other suspects in a corruption case at Fujairah's Criminal Court.
Rashid Hamdan Abdullah was dismissed from his post earlier in 2008, after he was embroiled in serious allegations that he sold government land for his personal gain.
Another three Emiratis, three Egyptians and a Sudanese are also facing charges of accepting and offering bribes, falsifying official documents and assisting in deception and fraud.
During Sunday's hearings, Al Afkham told the court he first sensed there was something irregular after he received a complaint from a suspicious member of the public enquiring how official papers were signed on Friday, a non-working day for the municipality.
After examining the documents, Al Afkham says he referred the matter to the main suspect Rashid Hamdan, the then municipality director, who in turn ordered an investigation by the municipality's legal affairs department.
Al Afkham was questioned by the presiding judge, and lawyers for the defendants, about municipality application procedures for industrial and commercial land.
Another four witnesses appeared in court including H.M.I., the in-charge for the industrial land section at Fujairah Municipality, who told the court that the third suspect in the case, real estate agent Ali Al Ahbash, offered her Dh450,000 as a gift.
The Fujairah Public Prosecution case is based on months of interrogations of the suspects and the testimony and evidence provided by 19 witnesses.
Their case argues that Rashid Hamdan, and other suspects, systematically falsified applications for government-land properties using the names of fictitious applicants.
After acquiring valuable land allotments, some of the suspects then sold them on to unsuspecting individuals as ‘repossessed lands' for a knock-down price.
Dozens of such transaction was documented by the Public Prosecution team with witnesses stating they often paid as much as Dh400,000 for a number of land allotments only to later discover they are, in fact, still owned by other people.
Lawyers in the case submitted a summons for witnesses and a request for bail for all the suspects in the trial, which was rejected by the judge.
Lawyers also requested that copies are made available of the findings of the internal investigation by the municipality's legal affairs department.
The hearings were adjourned until the 18th of next month.
Community Reports
-
Mirror, mirror show me the way
Driver on Salam Street had so many boxes and fruits piled into car, he would not be able to view rear or right side mirrors
-
Parents should be more vigilant
Reader's picture highlights risk of negligence by caretakers
-
Warming up to ‘Mobilise the Earth' theme
Dubai school dedicates a whole week to celebrating Earth Day with can-collection drives, sapling plantation and painting competition among others
-
Drivers using mobiles put others' lives at risk
Speeding is dangerous for the driver and other motorists
Latest news
- Youngsters dance and raise cash for charity
- Dubai departments upgrade services
- Get yourself a free test for diabetes
- Ensuring a safety net for intellectual property
- Reader's issue addressed
- 5,552 illegals held in Dubai this year
- Man cleared because he took drugs in France
- Man charged with trafficking women
- Auditors to probe Mizin graft case
- Transfusion centre launches new toll free number
- Mirror, mirror show me the way
- Last minute ID rush is on
- Breaking down cultural barriers with photographs
- Car seats for children: Unsafe at any speed
- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince visits Islamic centre
