A sales representative who forged documents to have his two dogs released from quarantine will spend a year in prison.
Prosecutors said that on August 24, the defendant — a 26-year-old Syrian man — received two dogs from Brazil. As per UAE law, the dogs were sent for quarantine to undergo check-ups for infections.
The Filipino veterinarian who dealt with the case said that after receiving the dogs he sent them to Terminal 2 for quarantine.
“Two hours later I returned to check on them and didn't find them. I was told they were discharged,” the 33-year-old man said.
The vet said he requested their discharge documents from the Dubai customs office at the airport "because I knew they hadn't yet undergone a check-up."
He said that when he checked their documents he noticed that the stamp, which was attributed to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, was not an original, so he reported the incident.
Police arrested the accused on September 14. He was charged with altering an official document, forging an official stamp and using the forged official stamp.
During the prosecution’s questioning, he allegedly admitted that he wanted to get the dogs out before they could be seen by a vet but when he appeared at Dubai Criminal Court in December last year, he denied all charges.
On Sunday he was convicted of altering an official document, forging an official stamp and using the forged official stamp and sentenced to one year in prison followed by deportation.
The defendant can appeal the verdict within two weeks.