Taxi driver gets three-month jail term for pocketing Dh81,000 left on seat

Dubai: A driver has been jailed for stealing $22,000 (Dh81,000) which a passenger left in his cab although he claimed he was overtaken by tiredness and did not see the cash, a court ruled on Wednesday.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the 40-year-old Pakistani driver, K.M., to three months in jail. The accused who pleaded not guilty will be deported after serving his sentence.

The driver told the court earlier that he "didn't see the money until he woke from his sleep."

When the judge asked him why he failed to instantly report that the African passenger had left the money behind in his taxi, the driver replied: "Your honour I didn't have any intention of stealing the money... I only saw the money in the back of my cab after I woke up."

A Yemeni policeman testified: "The suspect could have returned the money during a period of 12 hours... but he didn't and this implies that he was intending to steal it."

An Emirati sergeant stated: "An African national reported that he forgot the money in the cab before identifying the driver at the transportation company where he worked. At first he denied seeing the money, but later K.M. confessed that he put it under the front passenger seat. He claimed that he didn't return the money because he went to sleep."

The initial verdict is still subject to appeal.

The suspect could have returned the money during a period of 12 hours... but he didn't and this implies that he was intending to steal it."