Dubai A security guard has been jailed for three months for stealing his co-worker’s phone after the latter left it plugged to a power outlet in a public place for charging the battery.

A 26-year-old Ugandan aircraft washer [the co-worker] plugged his mobile phone in to the battery charger in a canteen at Al Maktoum Airport after asking the 27-year-old Pakistani guard for an electric connection to recharge the battery in August.

The Ugandan went back to work and left his phone on the charger but when he returned after 45 minutes to take the phone, it was missing.

The washer asked his colleagues, including the guard, who all told him that they had not seen his mobile.

The Ugandan then alerted his superiors at work before the police were informed about the missing phone.

Primary police investigation revealed that the 27-year-old guard was the only other person who knew about the missing phone.

When the Pakistani defendant appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance, he admitted that he had taken the phone but maintained that the feeling of guilt pushed him to return it.

“I took the phone from the canteen when I found it there ... but later when I kept it with me, I couldn’t bear the feeling of guilt. So I decided to give it back, and I did,” the accused told the court.

On Wednesday, presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi said the accused will be deported after serving his punishment.

The Ugandan washer said his phone battery ran out of power as he had been talking to his family back home.

“I grabbed my charger and went looking for an electric socket to plug it in. The defendant guided me to one of the sockets in the canteen ... I went back to my work after connecting my phone for charging. Sometime later, when I went to get my phone back, I could not find it. I asked most of my colleagues, including the accused, who all told me that they had not seen the phone. We reported the matter to the police,” he said.

A policeman testified that primary interrogations revealed that the defendant had been linked to the theft.

“On-site investigation revealed that he had not been tasked with watching the canteen. He admitted that he took the phone and intended to sell it for Dh200-300 to use the money for himself,” the policeman said.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.