Dubai: The Emirati man who had duped an elderly Indian couple of their Mercedes car on August 10 by issuing them a dud cheque for Dh125,000, had also cheated a Pakistani businessman using the same modus operandi.
Deceiving innocents
Mohammad Iftikhar, a Sharjah-based businessman, who contacted XPRESS after reading the report published last week (Dud Cheque For A Merc, Page 4), said Emirati Abdullah Mubarak Fairouz Sabir had driven away with his Range Rover (2005 model) in December 2009 after issuing him a dud cheque of Dh90,000.
"It's been nine months and the man, who has 10 cases against him, is still running loose, deceiving innocents," said Iftikar, a former photo-journalist with Dar Al Khaleej.
"The amount involved was not small and I was selling the car to raise funds for my sister's cancer treatment," he said. Seeking help from other victims of the Emirati, he said they should all approach the authorities together to expedite action so that others are spared. Iftikhar said he had hired a law firm to pursue his case, adding, "This man has to be caught."
Iftikhar said he had advertised the sale of his car in a newspaper on December 10 last year, following which Sabir had contacted him, insisting that he wanted the car urgently. Since the car was registered in Abu Dhabi, Sabir and Iftikar had driven to the traffic department office at Al Samha, Abu Dhabi, where Sabir had taken care of all the formalities. Once the car was transferred in his name with an export number plate, he had offered to drive Iftikhar back to Dubai, the businessman said.
On the way, Iftikhar said he got into an argument with Sabir since he had not been given a copy of the transfer papers or the agreed amount of Dh90,000. However, Sabir told him he would give these to him once they reached Dubai.
In Dubai, Iftikhar said Sabir gave him a RAKBank cheque and promised to send him a copy of the papers later. But, when Iftikhar tried to cash the cheque the next day, he said it bounced due to insufficient funds. Iftikhar got in touch with Sabir who assured him that he would speak to the bank manager.
But, when two days passed and there was still no sign of payment, Iftikhar called up Sabir who promised to meet him. But Sabir never turned up, claiming that he had met with an accident and was calling Iftikhar from the police station.
That was the last he heard from Sabir.
