Dubai: A court has sacked a police sergeant from the force and jailed him for three years for taking Dh2,000 in bribe from a cook to help him release his friend from detention.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 31-year-old defendant of accepting Dh2,000 in bribe from a Bangladeshi cook while he served as a sergeant in the police force between August and October of last year.

Dubai Police apprehended the 31-year-old defendant in a sting operation, during which the cook cooperated with them and pretended that he was paying a bribe to the defendant to help him have his countryman friend to be released.

According to Sunday’s ruling, presiding judge Mohammad Jamal also fined the defendant Dh2,000.

When the accused showed up in court, he pleaded not guilty and refuted his accusation that he had asked the cook to pay him money to help release his friend.

The defendant will be deported following the completion of his punishment, said presiding judge Jamal.

A lieutenant in Dubai Police’s anticorruption department testified that the accused was apprehended in a sting operation following an informant’s tip off.

“The informant alerted us that the defendant had been using a different name, abusing his authority and requesting bribes from individuals. We provided the cook with police money to pay it to the defendant as bribe … the police money was photocopied to be used as future evidence against the 31-year-old defendant. The latter was apprehended in a sting operation,” said the lieutenant.

The Bangladeshi cook testified that one day he was in the cafeteria where he worked when the former sergeant approached him.

“He gave me a wrong name and he also provided me with his number and asked me to contact him if I ever had any trouble with the police. During a random raid, my coworkers and I were apprehended by the police and taken into custody. Sometime later, four more friends of mine were apprehended and detained. Some of us were released later except for my friend … when I walked out of the detention, I contacted the [former] sergeant and told him about my friend’s status. He asked me to pay him Dh2,000 and also requested a photocopy of my friend’s Emirates ID. When I discussed the defendant’s request with an acquaintance of mine [who is a police informant], he told me that his request for money was strange and unusual. The acquaintance advised me to discuss the matter with the police … and when I did, they asked me to communicate with the defendant and tell him that I would pay him the money. I cooperated with the police and the defendant was apprehended in a sting operation,” said the cook.

Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.