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Sharjah Municipality to send weekly list of towed-away vehicles to police

SHARJAH — The Sharjah Municipality decided on Thursday to send the list of vehicles towed away from the streets every week to the police department to ensure that those vehicles are not stolen ones.

The decision follows a case of a stolen vehicle being sold at an auction by the municipality after the stipulated six-month period for the owners of towed-away vehicles to make their claims.

The Arab owner of the towed-away Jeep Grand Cherokee, Samir Bakri, said his vehicle was stolen from Al Karama area in Ajman on August 27, 2007.

He was shocked to get a call from an Indian on August 17 this year, asking Bakri to come to the Sharjah Traffic Department to help the caller complete the ownership transfer procedure of the vehicle he had bought from the Sharjah Municipality.

Bakri said he had filed a complaint at the Al Madina police station in Ajman soon after the jeep was stolen. The police station had sent circulars to all border checkpoints and all police departments in the country.

"I was shocked when an Indian called me, asking me to agree to transfer the ownership of my car to his name. When I told him the car was stolen, he then asked me to pay Dh6,000 he had paid and the fines of the municipality which towed away the car and kept it in a confiscated vehicles' area, plus Dh1,000 as services charges."

Bakri said he went to the Al Madina police station and took all necessary documents to prove his car was stolen, but an official of the municipality at the confiscated vehicles' area refused to hand over the car to him as it was already sold.

Ali Alwan, Director-General of Ajman Police, said we had contacted the Sharjah Police and notified them about the theft of Bakri's jeep.

The vehicle was towed away by the Sharjah Municipality after it was found parked in a non-designated area in the emirate.

Abdullah Al Shuwaikh, spokesperson of the Sharjah Municipality, said the civic body has reviewed the case and decided to hand over the car to its original owner and return the money to the Indian who bought it at the auction.

The municipality would also send a list of all confiscated vehicles with all details to the police department to ensure they are not stolen.

The municipality would publish notices in newspapers regarding the vehicles that are going to be sold if the owners have not come forward to claim them in the stipulated period.

"If any of the towed-away vehicles are found to be stolen, the same would be handed over to the police to return them to their respective owners,” he said.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

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