Sheep thief accused found not guilty but friend is fined for possession

Emirati farmer was buying grass for his flock when he recognised six of his sheep on sale at a market.

DUBAI // A shepherd accused of stealing six sheep from a farm was found not guilty while another who had the sheep in his possession was fined Dh5,000 at Dubai Criminal Court on Wednesday.

Bangladeshi shepherd AM, 32, was charged with stealing the sheep, while his Pakistani friend, KK, 32, faced a charge of knowingly possessing stolen goods.

The theft was uncovered when Emirati farmer AS, 80, was out buying grass for his flock at a market near Al Rawiya in December last year. He noticed the six sheep and wanted to buy them, not knowing that they were actually his.

“I requested the name of the sheep’s owner from KK to negotiate buying them and he told me that AM was the owner and that he was not available at the moment,” said the Emirati.

Upon closer inspection, AS started to suspect that the sheep were ones that he lost some time ago, so he reported it to police.

Policeman MA testified that KK said he did not know that the sheep were stolen and that he had paid his friend Dh2,400 for them.

AM denied the charge of stealing the sheep and was found not guilty, while KK said he did not know the sheep were stolen but was fined for having them in his possession.