Former Emirati soldier jailed for five years over fake death scam

The man's wife and father were also jailed following the trial in Dubai

Court hearings in Dubai have been halted as part of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus. Courtesy: AFP

An Emirati man was sentenced to five years in prison for faking his own death to avoid repaying a Dh700,000 loan.

Dubai Criminal Court heard how the man's life began to unravel after he was sacked from the UAE military in 2008 for drinking alcohol.

The man, now 50, fled to Yemen where he created a fake death certificate in an effort to avoid paying off a substantial loan to a UAE bank.

Prosecutors said his wife and father assisted in the deception, with his wife using the certificate to claim more than Dh1 million in child support.

On Sunday, the man's wife was sentenced to three months in prison and fined Dh1m and his father was sentenced to a year in prison and fined Dh700,000.

“I lost my investments in Yemen so I asked for help in getting a fake death certificate,” the former soldier told prosecutors.

“When my father came to pick up the document, he tried to get me to return to the country but I refused.

“Years later, after I was registered dead, I tried to enter the UAE illegally from Oman but was arrested and sent to jail.”

In January, the man appeared in court in the Emirates, charged with forgery and using forged documents.

Prosecutors said he was jailed for a month in the UAE in 2008 after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and threatening behaviour.

In October 2018, he was arrested after being caught trying to enter the UAE illegally from Oman.

He was sentenced to five months in prison and deported to the UAE after serving his term. Once there, authorities in the Emirates uncovered his scam.