ubai: A court has dropped a theft case against a man whose grandmother pardoned him for sneaking into her house and stealing Dh560,000 in cash and a necklace worth Dh40,000.
The elderly Emirati grandmother, who had been travelling abroad, discovered upon her return that someone had trespassed into her house, broken open the safes and stolen cash and a gold necklace in April.
She called her 37-year-old son to ask him if he had opened the safes and taken the cash and the necklace. The son called up the police before primary interrogations revealed that the 23-year-old grandson was the one who had entered the house and stolen the money and the necklace subsequently.
Appearing before the Dubai Court of First Instance, the 23-year-old admitted that he gained access to his grandmother’s bedroom using a screwdriver before breaking open the safes and carrying out the thefts.
However, he apologised for his actions and told the court that his grandmother had granted him a waiver. “It was a mistake and I am sorry for that. I would never repeat it,” he told presiding judge Urfan Omar.
Presiding judge Omar said on Thursday that the court had dropped the case after the grandmother reconciled with her grandson.
The defendant told the court that he had returned the stolen necklace and the cash.
The defendant’s uncle told the court that his mother had indeed pardoned the suspect and dropped her complaint. Thereafter the presiding judge warned the suspect not to repeat the crime.
The uncle had testified earlier that his mother discovered the theft once she returned from her travel. “When she checked the safes, she told me that Dh310,000 and the necklace had been stolen from the big safe and the rest from the small safe,” he told prosecutors.
A jeweller said the grandson came to his shop wanting to sell the necklace for Dh15,000.
“He alleged that he did not have a receipt for the necklace and that he had purchased it from Al Ain. He claimed that he bought the necklace to decorate his camel if it were to win a race; he claimed that he decided to sell the necklace since his camel ended fourth. When I asked him for his passport copy, he claimed that he only had his work ID. I gave him Dh15,000 and he left,” the jeweller testified.
