Dubai: A warden enters the courtroom escorting a suspect facing trial in a case relating to a bounced cheque worth Dh65,000. The judge fines the man Dh6,000 and the warden takes him outside the courtroom to pay his fine.
Once the dues are settled, the man is free to go.
Now, it is the turn of the second defendant to be brought in. Judge Ayman Mohammad Abdul Hakam, director of the Muraqabbat court within the local police station, asks the warden to bring him in.
In a matter of minutes, the second case too is settled.
The cases were part of a one-day court in session at the Muraqabbat police station.
The One Day Misdemeanour Court initiative, to be set up in police stations under the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, began on March 8 to boost the efficiency of judicial work.
The one-day courts, which deal with minor offences are expected to cut waiting time in Dubai Courts by 60 per cent, expedite the issuance of verdicts and save the government Dh40 million annually in expenses.
“It is a unique initiative and the first one in the region. As the court is in the police station, the procedures are faster,” Judge Abdul Hakam told Gulf News.
He said that the court looks into minor cases such as bounced cheques or issuing of cheques with malicious intent, failure to pay dues, begging, possession of alcohol or bootlegging, illegal entry into the country, returning after deportation, staying in the country illegally and absconding.
The initiative aims to curtail time required in investigation and prosecution by implementing a verdict in two phases, in less than 24 hours.
If a suspect is arrested in minor cases, he will be questioned by a prosecutor and referred to the court within a few hours and then the judge will pass a verdict on the suspect, either a fine or imprisonment, and then implement the verdict in 24 hours.
However, Judge Abdul Hakam told Gulf News that the procedure sometimes takes 48 hours to complete. “The number of cases is huge and the court is only operating in Al Muraqabbat and Al Barsha police stations. Sometimes, it takes time if the suspect denies the charges or wants to appoint a lawyer. Usually, it take 48 hours,” Judge Abdul Hakam said.
As all Deira police stations transfer the suspects to Al Muraqabbat court and all Bur Dubai Police stations take their suspects to Al Barsha police station, Judge Al Hakam suggested to have the court in all Dubai Police stations to speed up the judicial process.
“It’s better to have a court in every police station to keep up with the number of cases. We are three judges working in this court during the week from 10:30am until 4pm,” he said.
Gulf News was inside the courtroom watching the procedure when the judge sentenced a European man to two months in a Dh697,000 bounced cheque case.
“Ninety per cent of the cases are cheque cases. If the suspect asks for more time to make settlement, then I order to release him and lock his passport and give him time to settle the amount, especially in the big cheque amount cases like Dh100,000 and more,” said Judge Hakam.
Within two hours, Gulf News witnessed 20 minor cases being attended to, mainly relating to bounced cheques and one case pertaining to non-payment of fees of a rental car and hotel.
The last case of the day involved two Bangladeshi men caught selling alcohol. They confessed to possessing 35 bottles of alcohol that they intended to sell and the judge will issue the verdict on April 5. “In some cases, time is required to write the verdict and explain the reasons, especially in cases of imprisonment verdicts,” he added.
Prosecutor Abdullah Sultan Al Sharif, director of Al Muraqabbat prosecution, told Gulf News that they investigate more than 200 cases per day. “The initiative is positive and has reduced 70 per cent of the cases reaching Dubai Courts. In the past, the suspect needed to approach three sides — police, prosecution and Dubai courts — to finish his case. Now, the minor case is handled within 24 hours,” prosecutor Al Sharif told Gulf News.
“In the coming days, the Penal Order Law will be issued and it will lead to a qualitative shift in the field of judicial work. Some cases will be directly handled by the Public Prosecution, without referring it to the court through a penal order and by imposing a fine in some of the minor cases. This will cut down on the time and effort to get swift justice,” Al Sharif told Gulf News.
Brigadier Ali Ganem, director of Al Muraqabbat police station, said that the number of suspects detained in the station had been reduced to 55 per cent after the One Day court order.
“In the past, the suspect in minor cases waited for a long time to finish his case and the detention centres were busy but now it is easier as the suspect is questioned in the morning by the prosecutor and the judgement follows in the afternoon. The time was cut from 30 days to one day [for a minor case],” Brigadier Ganem said.
He said that every day, about 60 cases reached the station from four different stations in Deira. “Most of the suspects are fined and they don’t need to wait for a month in a detention centre to pay a fine at the end of it,” he added.
Pilot project in 2015
A pilot project of the One Day Court initiative was run in 2015 involving the Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs, Al Muraqqabat police station, and the Traffic Department.
Types of cases to be taken up
By the General Directorate of Residency:
Illegal entry into the country
Returning after deportation
Staying in the country illegally
Working despite a ban
Absconder cases
By the police station:
Possession of alcoholic beverages
Consuming alcoholic beverages
Giving a cheque with malicious intent
Signing on the back side of the cheque (without sufficient funds)
Failure to pay due fees
Begging
Illegal vendors
By the Traffic Prosecution:
Involvement in an accident that injured someone
Damaging properties
Drinking and driving
Attempting to dive under influence
Possessing alcoholic beverages illegally
Driving a car without a licence
