Khaberni - The Dubai Misdemeanor Court ruled to punish an Asian defendant with a month’s imprisonment and a fine of 490,000 Dirhams, along with deportation, after his conviction of embezzling gold powder weighing about two kilograms that was entrusted to him to be shipped outside the country.
The details of the case trace back to a complaint by a jewelry shop owner, who reported the embezzlement of a gold powder shipment, valued at approximately 490,000 Dirhams, which he had handed over to the defendant for shipment to his homeland, only to be shocked by its non-arrival.
According to the case files, the victim had handed the shipment to the defendant in a designated bag, after agreeing with him to transport it via a shipping company. However, the defendant appropriated it for himself, exploiting the trust given to him, without completing the shipping process or delivering it to the intended place.
The investigations showed that the defendant had a previous relationship with the victim through his work in the gold sector, which facilitated the handover of the shipment without complex formal procedures, within a framework of trust, which the defendant later exploited to seize the money.
The court based its belief on several pieces of evidence, among them the statements of the victim, witness testimonies, forensic reports, and the analysis of surveillance cameras inside the gold shop, which showed the moment the defendant received the shipment and exited with it from the location.
The investigations also confirmed that the defendant was recognized by the witnesses through his photo shown to them, and he admitted to receiving the shipment, though he tried to evade responsibility, which the court did not find reliable in light of the evidence presented.
The court explained in its judgment rationale that the crime represents a form of breach of trust, which occurs once the perpetrator receives money on a trust basis and then disposes of it with the intent to own it or harm the owner, noting that criminal intent is established the moment the possession of the money changes from partial to full with the intent to own.
The court confirmed that handing over the gold to the defendant was based on a trust relationship, and that his appropriation of it without any right constitutes a breach of this trust, especially since he failed to ship or return it, resulting in direct harm to the victim.
The court ruled to convict the defendant and punish him with a month’s imprisonment and a fine equal to the value of the embezzled money, along with deportation after serving the sentence, and referred the civil lawsuit to the competent court for adjudication.
