Dubai: A blacksmith, who offered Dh300 in bribe to a traffic policeman who stopped him for driving without a license then beat him and resisting arrest, has been jailed for one year.

The traffic policeman was in a police patrol when he spotted a sports utility vehicle (SUV) that had an expired registration at Al Hudaiba in July.

The policeman asked the driver to pull over at the roadside and went up to him to check the driver’s licence and registration.

When the policeman did so, the 34-year-old Indian blacksmith offered him Dh300 in bribe to let him go.

The policeman told the Indian defendant that he would take him to the police station to take legal action against and ordered him to sit in the police car.

The accused refused to comply and tried to run away but when the policeman stopped him, the Indian assaulted him.

The policeman was quick and so he pinned down the defendant to the floor and handcuffed him.

As the two men stood up, the policeman lost his balance and fell down when the accused took advantage of the opportunity and absconded with the handcuffs on.

After calling for backup, the Indian was apprehended hiding in a nearby building.

On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Indian defendant of offering a bribe, assaulting a policeman and absconding after arrest.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal fined the accused Dh5,000 and said he will be deported after serving his punishment.

The accused pleaded not guilty and denied the bribery charges but admitted that he beat the policeman and ran away after being handcuffed.

The victim said he asked the accused to stop once he discovered traffic system confirmed that the car’s registration was expired.

“Once I spotted the SUV, I suspected the car. I checked the plate number on the traffic system that showed that its registration had expired. I flashed for the driver to stop … he took out Dh300 and offered me a bribe because I had stopped him for driving an unregistered car and not having a driving licence. When he showed me the money, he said ‘please sir take this money and let me go’. He resisted arrest and assaulted me when I handcuffed him. I called for police backup and he was apprehended,” he said.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal.