Man acquitted after receiving stolen iPhone from colleague in Dubai

He was originally given a three month jail term. The court heard that the woman who gave him the phone had also stolen 15 purses.

DUBAI // A man sentenced to three months in prison after receiving a stolen iPhone as a gift has been acquitted by Dubai Court of Appeal.

Dubai Criminal Court sentenced Kenyan E M, 35, to six months in jail for stealing the iPhone and 15 purses left by passengers on planes she was cleaning. The defendant was also fined Dh9,900 and will be deported after completing her sentence.

The court also sentenced her compatriot D M, 31, an assistant accountant, to three months in jail after the stolen phone was found in his possession.

He told prosecutors he was unaware it had been stolen when E M gave it to him as a gift.

The theft was brought to the attention of police in August last year when a man went to Dubai International Airport’s police station to report his iPhone missing.

Officers tracked down the phone and found it with D M.

“When we questioned him he said E M gave it to him as a gift, so we searched her house and found the 15 bags there. She said she stole all of them,” Officer A A, 33, said.

The female defendant told police she had stolen the items after they had been left behind by passengers, the court heard.

In court she confessed to a theft charge. D M denied possessing stolen items and told the court E M never mentioned it was stolen before handing it to him.

Both were convicted and sentenced to jail.

D M’s conviction was overturned by the court on Thursday.