Labour officer faces trial for seeking bribe from spa owner

An officer in charge of labour inspections has been charged with bribery for allegedly soliciting Dh50,000 from a spa owner.
The 31-year-old Emirati accused - inspector with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation - allegedly sought the money in return for not carrying out his regular inspection on the spa.
The Court of First Instance has also charged a Pakistani driver, who collected the money from the spa owner on behalf of the officer.
While denying the charges, the officer said that he has only accepted the gift the spa owner gave him.
The 43-year-old Chinese complainant said that a fine worth Dh80,000 slapped against her a year ago led to the complaint.
She told the court that the inspector contacted her on December 27, 2015 and warned about the imminent labour inspection.
Promising to help her, the inspector demanded Dh60,000 to avoid "issuing any violations or shutting the spa down."
When she told him she did not have that much amount, he settled for Dh50,000.
"The following day he called me again. I told him I was in Abu Dhabi and I would send my husband to hand him the money. But he refused to meet my husband as he knew he was an Emirati national."
It was then she contacted the police, who instructed her to meet and hand over the money given by the police to him.
The officer sent his driver to collect the money from the parking lot of a hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road and got arrested.
He was charged for aiding and abetting the officer in bribery.
A police lieutenant said: "We learnt that the inspector had a criminal record. We obtained a prosecution warrant to record her conversations with the inspector and arrest and search warrant for other involved."
mary@khaleejtimes.com
 
 

• Dubai