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UAE: Man fined Dh750,000 for blackmailing woman with private photos

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Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Abu Dhabi - Official court documents stated that the man met the young woman on social media and befriended her.

Published: Mon 1 Feb 2021, 3:21 PM

Updated: Mon 1 Feb 2021, 3:22 PM

An Abu Dhabi youth, convicted of blackmailing a young woman to pay him a large sum of money, has been ordered to pay the woman Dh750,000 as compensation for damages.

The Arab man was also instructed to return the Dh700,000 he fraudulently obtained from her by threatening to publish private photos of her on social media.

The Abu Dhabi Appeals Court upheld an earlier ruling by the lower court which ordered the Arab man to pay the compensation to the woman for material and moral damages she suffered as a result of the blackmail.

Official court documents stated that the man met the young woman on social media and befriended her. After some time, he asked her to send him some pictures of herself, which he later used to blackmail her.

The woman had earlier told prosecutors that the man told her to send him money if she didn’t want her pictures posted on social media. She said she transferred up to Dh700,000 to the defendant, but the man didn’t stop threatening her.

The woman then filed a complaint with the police, providing evidence of her online chats with the defendant in which he threatened and blackmailed her using her photos. She also presented the receipts confirming the cash transfers to the defendant.

After investigating the matter, the police caught the defendant and charged him with online blackmail and defrauding the woman.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance had earlier ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff the Dh700,000 he took from her and another Dh700,000 in compensation for the damages she suffered. He was also told to pay another Dh50,000 for legal expenses.

The man challenged the ruling to the Court of Appeals, stressing that it was unfair and the compensation payout to the woman was exaggerated. The judge, however, rejected his appeal and maintained the first ruling.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com



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