3-month suspended jail for teddy bear thief

Dubai: A student was sentenced to a three-month suspended imprisonment yesterday after he was convicted of attempting to steal a teddy bear worth Dh25 during the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF).

The Dubai Court of First Instance suspended the imprisonment against the 20-year-old, A.A. from the Comoros Islands for three years. Prosecutors accused A.A. of snatching the teddy bear from the display shelf of a DSF booth near Al Ghurair City and assaulting a worker, who tried to stop him.

"I did not steal the teddy bear. It was thrown on the ground near the booth while I was walking to my car... I also did not assault the worker," said A.A. when he defended himself.

According to the judgement, the accused should not repeat the crime within the three-year period, otherwise he would have to go to jail.

"It is illogical for a person, who owns a car, to try to steal a teddy bear that's worth around Dh20-30. A.A. was heading to his car and saw the teddy bear on the ground. He did not detach it from the display shelves," A.A.'s lawyer argued in the court. Prosecutors said A.A. attempted to steal by use of force when he snatched the teddy bear from the booth after closing time. He kicked the Pakistani worker, who stopped A. A. from running away. The worker, M.A., in his testimony said: "He beat me when I tried to stop him. He kicked my leg and I fell on the floor. I called my Pakistani coworker, T.I., for help."

T.I. testified that the back of the teddy bear was torn, which meant that it was pulled out by force from the display shelf.