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Bail Denied to Real Estate Executives

DUBAI - Bail was denied again to the executives of real estate developers — Sama Dubai and Damac — by the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance,
on Sunday.

Judge Fahmi Mounir, despite the emotional pleas by some of their relatives, stood firm by his decision.

Two witnesses, an Iranian and an Indian, gave their statements in the court. Both work in the accounts section for Home Builders, one of Sama Dubai’s clients. Both were clear that none of the accused accepted bribes or any other illegal commissions in return for any kind of purchase facilities.

An Emirati sales manager, aged 41, an Emirati sales consultant, 23, and a sales senior executive, 28, all ex-Sama Dubai staff, are accused of accepting illegal commissions worth more than Dh4 million by unlawfully reselling land plots of the Sama Dubai Lagoons project. They earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The two Emiratis are also accused of divulging secrets pertaining to Lagoons clients and land data and prices to a rival company for their personal benefit while Sama Dubai was unaware of the whole matter.

The former CEO of the Lagoons is also facing the charge of accepting in real and in cash benefits worth more than Dh2 million and Dh800,000 in return for allowing a client not to pay its purchase installments on time to Sama Dubai. He is also charged with incurring the complainant company another Dh4 million and Dh600,000 due to his unlawful reselling of lands.

The Indian witness confirmed in his statements and in the cross-examination by the defence lawyers that there were, indeed, re-sale of plots of land. But the re-sale operations happened with the approval of Home Builders.

When defence counsel Yaqoub Shaheen asked the Indian witness whether he came across any kind of shortcomings or violation of laws by any of the accused the witness replied firmly with a ‘no’. “There is a record kept in Sama Dubai’s Sales section regarding its correspondence with each of its clients.”

He also said the former CEO of Sama Dubai was totally in charge of the sales and partly of the finance.

A 32-year-old Syrian former director of Damac is also standing trial on the charge of accepting a bribe of Dh650,000 from two of the Sama Dubai defendants in return for helping them resell three pieces of land in the Lagoons project.

Molestation Charge

A 21-year-old Bangladeshi laundry worker was in court on Sunday facing the charge of molesting three schoolboys aged between 9 to 11 years on December 18 last year.

The defendant allegedly molested the boys when they came to the laundry where he worked.

A grocery keeper said while on duty in his shop the defendant came asking for Dh100 change. On seeing small boys in the shop he touched them.

Instructor in a Spot

A Pakistani driving instructor went on trial on Sunday on the charge of forcefully molesting his Filipino student during a driving lesson. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The 31-year-old victim, unemployed, stated in the interrogations that he had only attended three training sessions with the suspect and that the instructor showed signs of getting intimate.

The victim alleged that during the driving session the instructor told him to stop at a villa alleging he was interested in renting it. When the instructor took him inside the student got scared and called a friend. The instructor then allegedly molested him. The student reported the incident to the institute’s management, who called the police.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE