British man fails to overturn police bribe conviction

Defendant ordered to see out his three-month jail term

A British man who challenged a three-month prison sentence for trying to bribe a policeman who caught him in possession of drugs has lost his appeal.

The defendant, 27, offered the Emirati officer Dh150,000 to escape custody after being found with a quantity of crystal meth.

Police ignored his pleas, however, and later reported the attempted pay off to senior detectives.

“I was among a team of officers tasked with searching the defendant’s home for banned substances and we found crystal meth", an officer told the court.

He then described how the man – under arrest in the back of a patrol car - had asked officers how much cash it would take for them to drop the matter.

“I kept silent when he asked,” the policeman said. “Then he said 'Dh50,000?' but I remained silent.

“Then he raised the amount to Dh150,000 and said he would hand over the cash if I drove him to the nearest bank.”

The incident happened on November 13 last year after officers received a tip-off that the man was using drugs at his home in Jumeirah 1.

Police obtained a warrant and searched the address, finding the drugs.

At Dubai Criminal Court last May, the defendant denied a charge of trying to bribe an officer but was convicted and sentenced to three months in prison.

He was also fined Dh150,000 and ordered to be deported on completion of his sentence.