A former police officer has been jailed for six months for dealing in bribes worth Dh227,000 to forge e-transactions of departure fees of 569 people.
The Dubai Court of First Instance had earlier convicted the Emirati ex-police officer of bribing his countryman former passport control officer at Dubai’s General Department of Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs (GDRFA) to forge e-transactions of departure fees.
In 2013 the two former officers were sentenced to two years in jail. The ex-police officer was sentenced in absentia.
In a retrial, presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat reduced the former police officer’s sentence to six months in jail.
The defendant was also ordered to jointly pay a fine of Dh227,000 with the other accused [ex-GDRFA officer].
The court also ordered that all the forged information be deleted.
During the retrial, the ex-police officer pleaded innocent.
The former passport control officer had pleaded not guilty and denied his accusations.
Prosecutors accused the Emiratis of abusing their former public jobs and indulging in bribery to forge electronic transactions of departure fees of 569 people between November 2011 and July 2012.
Court records said the ex-officer of GDRFA abused his work at Dubai International Airport’s arrivals terminal and forged e-transactions of departure fees. He accepted bribes from the policeman.
Records said the officer used his authority to access GDRFA’s e-system and forged the transactions by showing in the system that the departure fees had been collected despite the fact that the concerned people hadn’t left the country.
An Emirati GDRFA official said an informant alerted them that the passport officer had tampered with details on departure fee transactions on the e-system. He collected bribes to the tune of Dh400 per person.
“The informant claimed that the defendant manipulated the e-system and entered details that the departure fees of Asians had been paid without them having to leave the country. The Asians had entered the country via tourist visas that were mainly sponsored by tourism agencies. Dnata records confirmed that the 569 individuals concerned hadn’t left the country,” said the official.
According to records, the ex-passport officer said he collected Dh400 in bribe from the ex-police officer against each person.
Prosecution records cited the ex-police officer admitting that he used to text the individual’s visa number to the other defendant’s mobile number to have the departure fees paid. He also admitted that he used to get the names of the individuals from a friend.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 12 days.
Source: gulfnews
