DUBAI // A baggage handler who was seen opening a passenger’s bag and promised to his bosses never to repeat it, broke his vow and ended up in court.
The 22-year-old Nepalese man was first spotted going through passengers’ luggage looking for valuables in April last year. He was seen opening a bag and then closing it.
“I was spoken to and I promised not to do it again,” the accused said.
But on November 23 he was again seen on cameras as he opened several bags belonging to passengers on a flight to Boston, US. He was reported by Dubai airport’s Emirati security officer.
“He confessed to me willingly that he had done the same numerous times but that he had never found anything valuable to steal, and when he was caught, he was searching passengers’ luggage of an Emirates airplane flying to Boston,” said a 25-year-old Emirati policeman.
Prosecutors showed the court the security camera footage that showed the man opening luggage. The accused was not present at Dubai Criminal Court to face a charge of attempted theft.
A verdict will be issued on March 6.
salamir@thenationaal.ae
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
