Dubai: A Dubai visitor who was caught not wearing a mask and flouting COVID-19 rules, has been accused of offering Dh3,000 bribe to the policeman.
The Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Monday that the incident happened during the national sterilisation programme in April this year. A policeman, who was patrolling the Jebel Ali area, saw the 24-year-old Indian defendant and a woman outside a hotel. Both were not wearing a face masks and failed to comply with precautionary measures to curb COVID-19. “I stopped them as they weren’t wearing a mask and were moving around without a permit, violating the movement restrictions in place. I told them that they need to have a permit and wear a mask. They told me that they went out walking,” said the policeman in official records.
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The defendant told the policeman that the woman is a masseuse and that he brought her for a massage session for Dh200 at the hotel. He was stepping outside the hotel to pay the taxi fees when he was stopped by the policeman. “He begged me to let him go and offered me Dh3,000 to leave him without legal action. He told me that he will hand me Dh2,000 in cash and the rest of the bribery money will deliver it at his residence,” the policeman added.
After the policeman took the defendant to Jebel Ali police station, the defendant handed over Dh2,000 to the policeman. The policeman alerted his director and referred the defendant to prosecution for legal action.
Dubai Public Prosecution charged the defendant with offering a bribe to a policeman on duty. Trial scheduled to October 19.
