DUBAI // A man dressed as an Armed Forces officer for a Halloween party was arrested when he was found to be wearing a real uniform.
Dubai Court of Misdemeanours heard yesterday that on October 31 last year Indian D S was seen in the uniform by a police patrol at Atlantis, the Palm.
“I was leaving the party at about 3am that night wearing the UAE Armed Forces uniform and a bulletproof vest when a police patrol stopped me and asked me where I got it from,” he said. “So I told them I bought it from a shop and they then took me to the police station.”
He told police he had bought the cap and trousers from a shop near the Dubai Customs building, while the shirt was given to him by a friend.
The bulletproof vest was bought on eBay by his uncle who had brought it to Dubai when he visited from the UK.
The defendant was unable to provide a receipt when asked by officers.
“The boots, however, are from my father,” he told officers. “I’m sorry I didn’t think of the consequences when I wore the uniform.”
He revealed that his Emirati friend who gave him the shirt worked for the Armed Forces and later confessed the same friend had given him the trousers.
“We met in a cafeteria where he gave me his uniform and told me that he did not want it because it’s old and that after the party I can throw it away, but only after I remove any flag or ranks off of it,” D S said.
He was asked if he had worn the uniform anywhere other than the party, or had any pictures taken while wearing it.
He replied he wore it only to the party, but some people there had taken pictures of him in uniform.
“There were about 40 other people at the party wearing uniforms of other countries’ armed forces,” he told police.
D S was charged with wearing the official Armed Forces uniform without permission, while his Emirati friend, F A, 21, was charged with aiding and abetting.
“He begged me for it and said that he had a project,” F A said.
They were convicted and fined Dh2,000 each.
salamir@thenational.ae
