Dubai: The Dubai Court of Appeal has sentenced a driver to three months in prison for threatening to kill a female compatriot if she got him jailed.
The Court of First Instance earlier sentenced the 39-year-old Ethiopian defendant to six months in jail for sending death threats via WhatsApp to his countrywoman over a financial dispute.
The Appeal Court reduced the sentence to three months. He will be deported after serving the sentence.
According to official records, the 21-year-old Ethiopian woman filed a case against the defendant in January 2019, claiming he threatened to kill her when she asked him to pay back a Dh2,500 debt.
“I know him through my brother, who works as taxi driver. Seven months earlier, he borrowed Dh2,500 from me and Dh2,000 from my brother. Later he asked for three months’ time to repay the money when I asked him about it. After that, he refused to pay the money back and threatened me,” said the victim in records.
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She added that WhatsApp messages sent from his phone number threatened to kill her.
“If you get me arrested, you won’t live in Ethiopia and neither will your descendants. Do you think you will live in Ethiopia? You are going to die,” the message said, according to records.
The woman went to Al Ghusais police station to report the incident and the defendant was arrested and confessed to threatening her via messages.
According to Dubai Public Prosecution, a copy of the WhatApp messages and chats between the duo were translated and used as evidence in the case file.
The verdict can be appealed against at the Cassation Court within 30 days.
