Employee admits stealing raw gold

Dubai // A goldsmith pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing 600 grammes of raw gold from his employer and attempting to sell it to a fellow goldsmith. MM, 25, took the gold - worth nearly Dh80,000 (US$21,000) at current market rates - from Fanja Jewellers in Jebel Ali. Police initially charged MM with petty theft, but prosecutors later elevated the charge to employee theft. He faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of seven years in prison.

Prosecution records show that on August 9 MM contacted a man identified as HS and offered to sell him three pieces of raw gold, claiming to have received the gold from a friend. The other goldsmith informed Fanja's production manager. Judge Fahmy Mounir Fahmy of the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance set sentencing for October 11. [e-mail]