Driver acquitted of money-snatching charges

The Dubai Criminal Court acquitted on Tuesday an Ethiopian national of the charges of tricking a Pakistani man into handing over his wallet and stealing the money.

The incident happened on April 29 when IHM, a driver by profession, was walking on Al Manama Street in Al Awir to the Al Ittihad Cooperative Society at 4.30pm. A car pulled up and its driver offered him a lift for Dh2. Although he refused, insistence by the driver - later identified as 37-year-old Ethiopian visitor DSR - made him accept the offer.

According to his testimony, IHM found three other Africans in the car. He sat with two of them in the back seat.

The driver, who took a diversion through a sandy ground, explained that he would first drop the man in the front seat before taking IHM to his destination.

Then one of the men in the back seat removed some money already in the storage compartment near the handbrake and hid it under his foot and signalled IHM to remain silent.

The occupant of the front seat, who subsequently got down from the car, dramatically searched for money he had ‘lost’ and began accusing the rest of the occupants of stealing.

In the argument that followed, everyone was asked to open their wallets. After checking IHM’s wallet, which contained Dh2,000, the man pushed him away. The driver dropped the wallet with only Dh50 in IHM’s shirt pocket before all of them sped away.

Having noted down the car’s number, IHM lodged a complaint with police who managed to track down the vehicle that belonged to a Sharjah-based car rental company.

During an identification parade, IHM recognised DSR while the others are still at large.

The court did not find the accused guilty and acquitted him of the allegations, according to the Dubai prosecution website. The prosecution has the right to appeal the First Instance Court sentence within 15 days.