Dubai Police corporal who forged sick leave certificate gets suspended sentence

Dubai: A police corporal, who forged a sick leave certificate and submitted it to his superiors to go on vacation, won a suspended imprisonment on grounds of leniency on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old corporal, M.H., obtained a forged sick leave certificate from a government clinic in Al Rashidiya and provided it to the department where he was stationed to take nine days leave in October 2012.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted M.H. of forgery and handed him a three-month suspended jail term.

Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi said the punishment will be suspended over a period of three years, during which the defendant must not repeat the crime.

Despite having entered an innocent plea, the defendant was found guilty.

“I did not forge the form,” M.H. told the court.

When asked if he had submitted the sick leave form to his superiors, M.H. contended: “I submitted the sick leave but I did not forge it.”

When the court presented the forged leave, M.H. said it was not forged.

Records said the accused forged the sick leave by getting it stamped on behalf of an Emirati doctor.

Presiding judge Al Shamsi said the forged papers will be confiscated.

The Emirati doctor testified that she did not stamp the sick leave and that she did not write the form.

“I cannot confirm whether the defendant visited the clinic or not. Usually I do not give sick leave for more than three days. In ordinary visits to the clinic, a patient has to be examined and, after obtaining a sick leave for three days or less, he or she should pay Dh50 at the reception. After the patient pays the fee, I stamp the sick leave. As for patients who require more than three days’ sick leave, we usually ask them to visit hospitals or emergency clinics,” she claimed.

A police major testified to prosecutors that it was discovered that members of the police force had been obtaining forged sick leave certificates from the clinic in Al Rashidiya.

“Records showed that M.H. had taken sick leave between October 15 and 23. After checking with the clinic, we were informed that the sick leave certificates were forged and not issued from the clinic. The clinic’s records also confirmed that the defendant had never visited the clinic. Meanwhile the handwriting on the forged leave did not match that of the pertinent doctor. During questioning, the suspect alleged that he did not enter the clinic but another man came out from the clinic and handed it to him,” the major said.

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