Truck driver fined Dh5,000, jailed 1 year for offering bribe to RTA official

A truck driver, who offered a Dh5,000 bribe to a driving test examiner to help some people pass the test, has been sentenced to one year in jail by a Dubai court.
Public prosecution records show the 46-year-old Pakistani man contacted the examiner of the driving licenses section of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) so that he would "help" some individuals, whose traffic file numbers he would give him, clear the driving test. That "help" would mean overlooking the mistakes they commit during the test and marking them 'passed' in the result reports.
The defendant has been found guilty by the Court of First Instance of the charge of offering a bribe to a public employee in return for breaching his duties. The court ordered his deportation after completing his jail term and paying a fine of Dh5,000.
The case, which dates back to June 27, was registered at Al Muraqqabat police station.
The employee said he had been receiving phone calls from a Pakistani man and sometimes the latter would use an international number.
"The accused said he wanted to meet me but would not tell me what for. I would ignore his calls until I told him I would call the police."
About one-and-a-half months prior to the complaint, the defendant called the complainant again. "He said his brother was applying for a driving licence and was up for a test. He told me I would benefit from that," the witness told the prosecutor.
When asked by the examiner what he meant, the defendant replied that he would clarify when they meet.
The examiner informed his supervisor who reported the incident to the section head.
The accused was arrested by the CID officers in a sting operation after he met the complainant in Abu Hail area. He had just handed the latter Dh5,000 for his "help" in getting some people, whose details he would bring later, pass the driving test.
The verdict has been appealed.

mary@khaleejtimes.com