Suspect ready to face any challenge to prove stone is bullet proof

Dubai: A precious stone dealer, currently serving a six-month jail term, is ready to face any challenge to prove that an onyx stone, which he advertised for Dh1.8 billion, is bullet proof.

"I am willing to prove to the world that it's a bullet-proof onyx stone ... I am ready to face death sentence if I am proven wrong ... I didn't con anybody, but the police tricked me and filed a malicious case against me," the 52-year-old Yemeni dealer told the Dubai Court of Appeal on Monday.

The Court of First Instance had sentenced him to six months in jail followed by deportation after he was found guilty of attempted swindling.

He denied trying to swindle or con people by posting the advertisement as charged by the Public Prosecution.

Defence lawyer Saeed Al Ghailani of Saeed Al Ghailani Advocates and Legal Consultants asked the judge to assign an expert or Dubai Police's criminal laboratory to examine the stone.

Al Ghailani urged the court to acquit his client.