Policeman ‘took Dh30,000 bribe to cancel hundreds of thousands in overstay fines’

Officer allegedly accepted the cash from nine people for cancelling their visa overstaying fines and issuing them with departure permits.

DUBAI // A policeman is accused of taking Dh30,000 from residency rules offenders for cancelling overstaying fines worth more than Dh445,000.

The 35-year-old Emirati officer was charged with accepting bribes from nine people to whom he gave departure permits. Four Bangladeshis, two Indians and three Pakistanis, who are all at large, are charged with offering a bribe, while one Bangladeshi is charged with mediating in return for Dh500.

The bribe was discovered when one defendant visited a public office asking about his fines. When presented with his departure permit, the office employee sensed something fishy and found out that they had not, in fact, been paid.

An Emirati policeman, 40, said the accused confessed taking bribes.

“He told me he cancels Dh3,000 to Dh5,000 in fines weekly,” said the witness.

The next hearing will be on January 29.