Man jailed for selling ex-fiancee’s car illegally

Dubai: A man has been sentenced to two years in jail for selling his ex-fiancee’s car using forged papers after he claimed to her that he took it to the garage for maintenance.

The Emirati man, S.A., visited his 22-year-old countrywoman [when she was still his fiancee] at her workplace and claimed that he wanted to take her car to the garage.

Few days later, she discovered that he had sold it using forged documents in January 2015.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced S.A. in absentia after convicting him of embezzling the sport utility vehicle [SUV] worth Dh433,000 that was handed to him on a basis of trust.

A Jordanian businessman, A.G., was also jailed for one year for buying the car although he knew the papers had been forged. The two had pleaded not guilty.

According to the primary ruling, the fiancee’s civil lawsuit was also referred to the Dubai Civil Court.

The Jordanian defendant will be deported after serving his jail term.

The duo forged a sales contract, the SUV’s registration papers and export certificate, according to records. Then they used those forged papers and presented them to an official at the Roads and Transport Authority [RTA].

The woman said her ex-fiance visited her at work to take the car to the garage, as he was aware that it required maintenance following an accident.

“S.A. rented another vehicle for me to use in the meantime. I had purchased the SUV as a gift for my mother and registered it in her name … as I was paying the bank instalments. Two days later my co-worker told me that the SUV was not taken to the garage. When I checked with S.A., he said he was waiting for a payment from his client to take the car to the garage. Four days later the defendant told me that the car was still under maintenance and that it had taken a longer period than expected because some spare parts had to be brought from abroad. When nothing happened within 10 days, my co-worker checked the RTA’s system and discovered that the SUV was not registered in my mother’s name. The car had been registered in another woman’s name… when I contacted S.A., he denied having taken the SUV from me. Thereafter we realised that S.A. had duped us and sold the car to A.G. using forged papers,” testified the woman.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 25 days.