Police corporal 'stole pornographic DVDs, demanded bribes'

A police corporal stole 266 pornographic DVDs he had confiscated from street sellers, a court hears.

DUBAI // A police corporal stole 266 pornographic DVDs he confiscated from street traders and demanded bribes from motorists whom he had issued bogus fines to, a court heard today.

The Dubai Criminal Court heard that officers discovered the DVDs has they searched the vehicle of MA, a 23-year-old Emirati corporal based at Jebel Ali police station, who they were investigating over allegations he had demanded bribes to cancel traffic fines.

Prosecutors said that in the early hours of February 7 the officer stopped a car driven by SK, a Pakistani, on Emirates Road and claimed that the vehicle was leaking diesel on the road. The uniformed officer confiscated the driver's licence and said he would be fined up to Dh10,000, but added that if the driver paid him Dh3,000 he would cancel the fine and return the licence.

The driver was then allowed to go and he informed his boss of what had happened. The boss then inquired about the fine at the traffic department and found that no such fine had been entered in the system.

Police then set up a sting to catch the officer, who was arrested as he took a bribe from the driver.

Following his arrest, officers searching his vehicle for his fines book found two large bags containing 266 pornographic DVDs. Police believe he had stolen the DVDs after confiscating them from street traders in Jebel Ali.

"He would take the CDs then release the men without referring them to the police station," said AD, a 28-year-old policeman.

Prosecutors said he confessed to issuing bogus fines to 87 motorists and that about 70 of them paid him bribes. They said he had been doing so since the beginning of 2011 and charged drivers between Dh200 and Dh3,000 each time.

In court, MA denied charges of taking bribes and embezzling pornographic DVDs.

The next hearing will be on June 11.