Man who took video of D5 number car detained

Dubai: Al Barsha police have detained the man who took the video of the car with the D5 number plate that had been parked in a slot reserved for the handicapped. The number plate was bought by a Dubai-based businessman for Dh33 million at a Roads and Transport Authority auction on October 8. The video went viral last week.

Maj-General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said the man, an Arab, worked in an area near where the incident was filmed.

The owner of the vehicle reported the video, and Dubai Police’s Cyber Crime Department identified the man who took the video leading to his detention on Thursday.

Dubai Police said it is illegal to take videos or photographs of people without first seeking their consent and post them online.

The police said there are proper channels available to report any kind of violations such as the ‘We Are All Police’ feature on the Dubai Police smart app that offers law-abiding citizens an avenue to bring to the authorities’ notice any violations by motorists.

Colonel Yousuf Al Odaidi, Director of Al Basha police station, said the owner of the car reported the incident at the station.

Referring to the complainant who had said that the car’s driver should not have waited at the spot, the car’s owner said this, however, does not give anyone the right to defame him.

Col Al Odaidi said the man who took the video had stated that he had not meant to defame the car owner, but since he had noticed people crowding around the car because of its unique number plate, he had taken the video out of admiration. Subsequently, he sent the video to a relative and a friend back in his home country and was shocked to see the video going viral. The video showed the driver parking the car, while the car’s owner got in a few seconds later.