Man accused of possessing stolen curtains worth Dh30,000

Dubai: A man has been accused of being in possession of Dh30,000 worth of stolen curtains after his three co-workers stole them from their workplace.

The three Filipino co-workers, who had stolen the curtains, were earlier sentenced to three months each in jail and deported, according to prosecution records.

Meanwhile the 39-year-old Filipino man, R.A., was said to have kept the curtains in his possession, which police seized from his home in February.

The defendant pleaded not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance and told presiding judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi he did not know the curtains were stolen.

“My friend [one of the deportees] brought them home with him. He asked me to keep them in my possession for a while… but I was not aware the curtains were stolen from the company where I worked,” he said.

The company’s German manager testified to prosecutors that she told the police immediately after she discovered that Dh30,000 worth of curtains were missing.

Records said police interrogations led to the arrest of the three Filipino workers.

Police seized the curtains from the house of one of the defendants (who were deported.)

Records said R.A. was arrested shortly after police investigations revealed he was in possession of the curtains.

R.A. was cited admitting during prosecution questioning that his co-workers asked him to keep the curtains at his house (which he shared with one of the deportees).

“I was supposed to give them back the curtains as soon as I returned from my travels. But I couldn’t do so because I did not return as per schedule,” the defendant was quoted as saying.

A ruling will be heard on Wednesday.