Dubai inspector collects Dh66,000 in bribes from 660 motorists

Dubai - To get their cars pass the technical test for licencing renewal.

A vehicle inspector has been charged with bribery at a Dubai court after he allegedly collected a total of Dh66,100 from as many as 660 motorists to get their cars pass the technical test for licencing renewal.
Prosecutors accused the 32-year-old Indian employee of collecting money on different occasions from 660 persons, whose cars failed the technical test, necessary for registration renewal, and wanted that their cars pass the re-test without going through the regular procedure.
He would receive the cars in the inspection lanes and pretend he was going about his duties of examining the vehicles.
The man would also wrongfully put data in the e-system that he checked the previous test results and that he verified the major faults were fixed. He would then issue the 'pass' reports accordingly.
Besides the bribery charge, he is also accused at the Court of First Instance of forging electronic data and issuing fake test results.
His alleged wrongdoings date back to April 24 up to May 2 and to three months earlier. A case was registered at Al Rashidiya police station.
Three Pakistani accomplices, aged between 24 and 35, are charged in the case for mediating between the employee and the motorists.
A lieutenant in the counter-administrative corruption section, the criminal investigation department, Dubai Police, said that he learned on April 24 about some Pakistani persons who would collect amounts of money from motorists, whose cars failed the registration renewal test and wanted to pass the re-test without the need to repair the mechanical defects.
"We tracked down the suspects in the case. Our information was that the amount would differ according to the type of the defect. One of the Pakistani accomplices would collect an average of Dh250 from every motorist for his help."
To catch the suspects red-handed, the police informant brought a car which had failed the test because of several technical defects. "Our informant told us that one of the Pakistani accomplices asked for Dh250 for his help in talking to the inspector into having the car pass," the lieutenant told the prosecutor.
The CID officers arrested the defendants on May 2 in a sting operation right near the inspection lanes after the defected car was issued a "passed" report without it being entirely repaired or subjected to a new test.
The trial has been deferred to September 10.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai