Dubai: A teacher, who cried in court when she denied forging a rent contract to obtain a residence visa for her husband, was handed a suspended punishment on Monday.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 35-year-old Indian teacher of forgery but handed her a three-month suspended imprisonment on grounds of leniency. The teacher cried in court when she denied the charge of forging the rent contract that she used to obtain a residence visa for her husband.
“I was not aware that the papers were forged,” she told the court when she entered an innocent plea.
Prosecutors charged the defendant with aiding another suspect [who remains at large] in forging the rent contract issued by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Dubai. She also used the forged papers and handed them to the Dubai’s General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) to process a residence visa for her husband.
When asked if she forged the rent contract and gave it to the GDRFA employee to obtain a visa, the defendant replied: “I did not forge it. A man named Ahmad took me to the flat and showed it to me from outside. He gave me the contract but I was not aware that it was forged.”
Presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat said the forged papers will be confiscated.
An employee at the GDRFA’s customer services section [where the transaction was carried out] testified that the defendant visited Al Jaffliya centre and applied for a residence visa for her husband.
“She submitted her application and attached the rent contract with it. The contract turned out to be forged as per Rera records. The contract was not listed,” he claimed.
Records said police were notified about the forgery and the teacher was taken in for questioning.
The defendant maintained that she was not aware of the forgery and told the court: “I can provide the so-called Ahmad’s mobile number and the pertinent documents to confirm that I did not forge anything.”
Monday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
