Dubai: A man, who stole dinning tables, chairs, ACs and kitchen appliances from a restaurant after a fire in a building, has been jailed for one year.
The Indian owner of a restaurant was forced to empty his workplace for maintenance purposes after a fire in the building where his shop is located in March 2018.
Shortly after the fire gutted substantial parts of the building, the Indian owner closed down the restaurant temporarily for maintenance.
The owner flew out to his country and when he returned to Dubai, he discovered that several items had been stolen from his place.
The owner notified the police and primary interrogations revealed that his former employee, a 35-year-old Indian, had stolen them.
On Tuesday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 35-year-old accused of stealing a stove, a microwave, freezer, six ACs, 48 chairs and 12 dining tables.
Records said the accused committed the heist in collaboration with three of the restaurant’s former employees, who remain at large.
Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the accused, who pleaded guilty, will be deported.
The restaurant owner said the fire that gutted the building in March forced him to close down the place for maintenance.
“The defendant worked in my restaurant until he resigned in October 2017 and the other fugitives stayed working at the restaurant until its temporary closure. They were on my sponsorship. I left to India and when I returned I discovered that the restaurant had been robbed,” he testified.
The accused told prosecutors that he and the fugitives paid Dh950 to a stranger to take the stolen items from them.
The ruling remains subject to appeal.
