Dubai: A salesman has been jailed for six months for misusing a lost Emirates ID card to obtain a credit card that he used to purchase 14 mobile phones.

The Egyptian salesman, A.F. and his Tunisian accomplice, M.Z., were said to have found the lost ID that belonged to a British man, then used it to get a credit card and purchased the phones in 2013.

A.F. was earlier sentenced in absentia to one year in jail.

The Egyptian turned himself in and requested a retrial before the Dubai Court of First Instance that reduced his one-year imprisonment to six months.

M.Z.’s ruling in absentia still stands.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of buying the 14 phones worth around Dh31,000 from an Axiom store. A.F. was an employee at the store.

A.F., who had entered a not guilty plea, will be deported after serving his imprisonment.

The defendants also face a civil lawsuit that was lodged against them.

Records said the duo used an official document (Emirates ID) that belonged to someone else to get a credit card. They also deceived Axiom staff and bought the phones, forging signatures on the purchase receipts.

The Briton claimed he lost his Emirates ID card in April 2010 and a replacement was issued by the Emirates ID Authority.

“The Emirates ID Authority informed me that there was no need to tell the police that I had lost my card,” he said.

His wife received an SMS from the bank informing them that their credit card had been used at Dubai Marina Mall, according to her statement.

“The last time we used our credit card was in 2012 at Mirdif City Centre. We did not make any purchases at Marina Mall. We realised that someone had been using our credit card illegally. Immediately we asked the bank to freeze our cards. We were informed that the purchases were made at Axiom and Areej,” the wife said.

The British couple informed the police immediately after that.

An Indian shop supervisor said M.Z. came to his shop in Naif and sold him new phones from Axiom.

“The defendant presented a receipt confirming that he had bought a BlackBerry from Axiom. I purchased a BlackBerry phone and an iPhone 4s from him. He returned and sold me two phones. I checked only one receipt and its serial number. When I asked M.Z. why he was selling the phones, he told me he needed money. I also took a photocopy of his Emirates ID,” said the supervisor.

A policeman said surveillance cameras revealed that A.F. worked at the Axiom branch.