Dubai cabbies swindled with 'illness' trick

A jobless Jordanian, who swindled money from drivers of luxury taxis by pretending to be sick and asking them to buy him medicine from pharmacies, was sentenced to one year in jail.

AM, 36, was also given additional six months in jail for assaulting a taxi driver and ordered to be deported after serving his jail term by the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.

According to the records, on July 17, FR, 35, Pakistani driver of a luxury taxi, was waiting at a mall when a security guard stopped him and asked him to pick up a passenger asking for a luxury car. The passenger asked the driver to drop him at Dubai Marina. On the way, he pretended to be unwell and asked the driver to stop at a pharmacy and gave him Dh200 for the medicine.

“As I did not find in the pharmacy the medicine he had asked me to buy, I returned to the taxi and returned his money. I dropped him and later in the evening I discovered that Dh6,200 that I kept in the car’s box was missing. I immediately remembered the passenger who had asked me to buy him medicine as I had not left the car’s door open at any time,” said the driver.

Being confused and worried, the driver did not inform the police immediately. However, on the second day, he approached the police point at the mall from where he picked up the passenger. The driver did not have any evidence that there was money in the car and he also did not know the address of the passenger. Police asked the driver to try to search for the passenger and to notify police if he sees him.

FR told his co-workers about the incident and asked them to inform him if they by any chance see a passenger with the description of the one who had cheated him.

On August 13, the victim’s co-worker told him that he had picked a passenger of similar description. The passenger had also asked him to buy him medicine from a pharmacy. The passenger also took the mobile number of the driver to call him when he needs a taxi.

In the evening, the passenger called the victim’s co-worker and asked him to come and pick him.  The co-worker immediately called the victim and gave him the passenger’s mobile number so that he could go instead to find out whether he was the same person who cheated him.

The victim went and picked up the passenger from Dubai Marina but did not recognise him. The passenger asked to be dropped to Sharjah and on the way he asked the victim to buy him a medicine from a pharmacy at Tecom.

“I got off the car and headed to the pharmacy and when I returned, I saw the passenger getting off the taxi and stopping another. I checked my wallet which was in the car, I found that $150 and 10 euros were missing. I followed the taxi until it stopped. The passenger got into a red Mercedes,” said the victim.

The victim called the police, got off his car and ran after the passenger. “I shouted at him why he had cheated me. He abused me and got into his car. Then he said that he will return the money he stole from me and asked me to ride the car sitting next to him. When I entered the car, he tried to move. I quickly changed the gear to prevent him from moving. He bit me on the chest and arm and ran out of his car. He crossed Sheikh Zayed Road and took another car but I could not see the plate number,” he said.

After questioning the owner of the Mercedes; police reached the accused AM. Police already had already five complaints lodged by taxi drivers who were cheated by a passenger asking them to buy him medicine. 

While police was investigating these complaints, driver FR informed that he had seen the passenger who had cheated him. All the victim drivers recognised the accused when shown to them. Finger prints lifted from the victim’s taxi matched that of the accused.

The accused had theft records in different emirates and he is now serving a three-month jail term awarded by Dubai Courts last December for theft.

 

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