Public servant accused of demanding Dh30,000 bribe

An Emirati public servant allegedly asked for a Dh30,000 bribe from a company to waive a fine for offering jobs to absconders, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.

TYM, 37, administrative employee, is accused by the prosecution of asking for a bribe of Dh30,000 from Al Ajwaa Maintenance Contracting and claiming the authority to waive the fine. MYA, 24, Egyptian, security guard is accused of criminal complicity.

Jaber Hussain, 37, Pakistani, clerk at Al Ajwaa Maintenance Contracting, testified that three days before the incident, his brother Abrar Hussain told him that while he was at the company’s construction site, an employee from the Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs visited the site and asked the workers for their ID cards. The workers handed the cards to the employee.

The employee then asked the contractor about the financial dues of the Ajwaa Maintenance Contracting. It was Dh5,850 which he received from the Hassan Salmin General Contracting Company without any receipt.  The employee then called Abrar and asked him to meet him in his office.

“My brother went to his office. Later he learnt that the employee had called up the company where he works and asked Abdul Wahed to pay him Dh30,000 for violating rules as Abrar Hussain does not work for his employer. Abdul Wahed asked me to visit the employee in his office. The employee, RYM, asked me for Dh30,000 as violations fine. I told him that the company cannot pay that big an amount. MYA, Egyptian, intervened in the matter and told me that he will help me to reduce the fine from Dh30,000 to Dh15,000 against paying him Dh1,000. I told him that I need time to arrange the amount. I informed Abdul Wahed who told me that we should notify the police,”  he said.

Jaber Hussain notified the police which gave him the money and a recorder.

Jaber met TYM and RYM in the parking lot outside RYM’s his office upon his request, handed him over the police money and received his brother’s documents. TYM and RYM were arrested red handed.

Arun Kumar, 44, mechanical engineer of Hassan Salmin General Contracting, testified that TYM told him that the value of the fine is Dh35,000. Although he  told the employee that these workers are of the sub-contracting company, he asked him to pay the dues of the sub-contracting company. “I paid the Egyptian man who was with the employee Dh5,850,” he testified.

Lieutenant Mohammed Al Suweidi from the Residency and Foreigners Affairs Department testified that the accused is a coordinator of the Labour Affairs Committee which includes members of the Ministry of Labour, Dubai Municipality, and Dubai Police.

“The committee had been formed to receive complaints from workers, investigate them and refer them to the Ministry of Labour. The committee is not assigned to arrest workers violating rules or to seize labour cards, issue notice of violations o collect worker dues,” he testified.

The court adjourned the case for verdict until February 13.

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