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No jail for mentally unstable man who beat up, stole from motorist

Abu Dhabi - The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi has overturned earlier rulings by lower courts.

 A man who was convicted of kidnapping a motorist and stealing from him by posing as a police officer, has had his five-year-jail sentence cancelled due to his mental condition.
The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi has overturned earlier rulings by lower courts that handed down the jail sentence to the Arab man after he was found guilty of kidnap, theft, assault and impersonating a police officer.
The Supreme Court judge also ordered that the Appeal Court have a fresh hearing into the man's case and hand him a lighter sentence instead, after a psychiatric report confirmed that the man had psychological problems at the time he committed the crimes.
The psychiatric report said the Arab man suffered from epilepsy, a condition that resulted from his drug addiction, and that he was not responsible for his actions.
Official court documents stated that the Arab man was arrested early last year after a motorist complained to authorities that the defendant, posing as a police officer, stopped him on the road, and forced him into his car.
The defendant had showed the Asian motorist an identity card claiming that he was a CID officer.
The victim told prosecutors that the Arab man took him to deserted area where he beat him up along with his friends, and stole his cash and mobile phones.
Prosecutors had charged the man with kidnap, assault, theft and impersonating a police officer but the man had denied the charges.
Both the Criminal Court of First Instance and the Appeal Court found him guilty of the charges and had given him five years in jail.
The man appealed the ruling to UAE's top court stating that he suffered from psychological illness and was wrongly convicted.
His lawyer argued that his client suffered from epilepsy, and wasn't responsible for his actions.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com