Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal has sentenced a man to one-month in jail for stealing a pair of sandals from a mosque.
The victim initially filed a police complaint when his sandals were stolen outside the mosque he was praying in, which was located in Ghantoot near the Adnoc (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) petrol station.
According to Arabic media reports, the victim described the sandals as “expensive” that were worth around Dh700.
Abu Dhabi Police launched an investigation into the missing sandals and after monitoring CCTV cameras in the vicinity, discovered the suspect’s identity.
During interrogation, the Asian suspect admitted to the crime but in his defence, claimed that it was a mistake. He was handed a three-year jail sentence followed by deportation.
After filing an appeal, the suspect was shown leniency and had his previous sentence suspended, with the detention of only one month.
The law
In cases of theft, Article 389 of the UAE Penal Code states that a person shall be sentenced to detention for a minimum term of one year if the crime is carried out in one of the following instances:
- Places of worship.
- Inhabited areas or its annexes.
- In means of transportation, station, harbour or airport.
- Through climbing over the fence, breaking-in, or through using of duplicated/ genuine keys without the owner’s consent.
- By impersonating a public official.
- Stealing from cattle or animals that transport goods.
