DUBAI A Filipino man denied charges of stealing curtains and fittings worth Dh30,000 from his employer’s store.

Court documents show that the German store manager called the police after she realised the goods were missing. Investigations led the trail to three Filipino employees who are being tried in separate cases.

“I did not steal the curtains,” the suspect, 39, told court. “My colleague gave them to me for safekeeping. He told me that our manager gifted him those curtains and he would come back for them later.”

The judge sardonically replied: “I’d like to have an employer giving me Dh30,000 worth of gifts.”

The other suspects who are under custody have admitted to stealing the curtains, with two other suspects having fled the country.

“We caught the suspect in his apartment where we also found the curtains,” a police officer told prosecutors.

“I did not know they were stolen. My colleague told me he would pick up the curtains as soon as he came back to the country,” the suspect told prosecutors. “He called me later, saying he could not come back to the country as he had some issues back home.”

Prosecution is asking for three months imprisonment for the suspects followed by deportation.

The verdict is on July 16.