Dubai: A businessman admitted in court on Wednesday that he bribed a government employee in his attempt to dodge a travel ban so he could fly out to facilitate a bone marrow transplant for his leukaemia-stricken son.
The nine-year-old Palestinian boy died earlier this month.
The Palestinian businessman was said to have paid Dh120,000 in bribes to the Emirati employee to help him avoid all security checks at Dubai International Airport so he could fly to Beirut for the treatment of his son.
According to records, the businessman had not been able to fly out of the country with a case pending against for an unpaid cheque but, once he realised that his son needed an urgent operation, he paid the government employee to be able to travel to Beirut so that he would be able to provide stem cells to help with his son’s treatment.
According to records, the Palestinian paid the Emirati Dh60,000 twice to help him dodge security checks at the airport and fly in and out of the country two times between September and December.
Law enforcement officers discovered what had happened and apprehended the Palestinian after he completed his second trip.
Prosecutors also accused the employee of accepting bribes to help the businessman avoid security checks and enabling him to fly out of Dubai breaching a travel ban.
The businessman was accused of paying Dh120,000 in bribes to the employee to abuse his authority and assist him in traveling in an illegal manner.
“Yes I paid him money. I was forced to do so. I had no other option and all doors were shut in my face. My nine-year-old son had cancer and I needed to facilitate a bone marrow transplant for him since I was the only person whose stem cells matched with his. I was obliged to do it to save my son,” the Palestinian told presiding judge Fahd al Shamsi.
“Did you manage to see him?” the presiding judge asked the suspect.
“The transplant did not work out and my son died last week, but I managed to see him before he passed away,” replied the businessman.
The Emirati entered a not guilty plea when he showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
A police lieutenant testified before prosecutors that the two suspects were apprehended in a sting operation. “The two suspects were caught on surveillance cameras, and the employee was also spotted taking a plastic bag [that contained the bribe money] from the businessman,” he told prosecutors.
The suspects’ lawyers asked presiding judge Al Shamsi to hear prosecution witnesses’ statements when the court reconvenes on April 19.
Towards the end of the hearing on Wednesday, the Emirati was given a bail.
