Man jailed for using fake Saudi licence to get UAE one

Dubai - The case dates back to and prior to November 17, 2016.

A 31-year-old man, who unlawfully obtained a UAE driver's licence by using a fake Saudi licence, was sentenced to three months in jail on Wednesday.
Public prosecution records show that the Emirati man applied at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to replace a fake Saudi driver's licence (which he claimed was issued by the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia) with a UAE licence.
The case dates back to and prior to November 17, 2016. It was registered at Al Qusais police station.
The Court of First Instance found the defendant guilty of forgery and use of forged documents. It was the second time his case was heard by the court.
Earlier, he had been convicted and sentenced to three months in jail. The court then ordered that his licence be confiscated. The verdict was later upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeals.
In the new ruling, the court also ordered that the defendant's driving licence be confiscated.
A 31-year-old Emirati employee at the RTA said the defendant applied for a driver's license on November 17, 2016.
"He wanted to replace a Saudi licence he had with a local one. His application was approved and he was issued the UAE licence," the RTA employee said during the prosecution investigation.
"However, after contacting the competent department at the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia to inform them that the defendant's Saudi licence was replaced with a Dubai licence, we received a letter from that authority, notifying us that there was no such licence issued from them."
According to the letter, the document submitted by the accused was forged, the witness told the investigator.
Authorities were notified and a criminal complaint was filed.
The letter was used by the public prosecution during the probe and as evidence.
The new ruling has just been appealed.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai