DUBAI// A man who offered a bribe to an inspector so he would ignore rules violations at nightclubs owned by a friend was sentenced to a year in jail.
Between December 2013 and February this year, Syrian ZA tried to convince an Emirati inspector from Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing to accept up to Dh15,000.
The inspector, BA, 28, told Dubai Criminal Court: “In November last year he followed me when I left a club and asked to meet me in Ajman or Sharjah and told me that I will benefit meeting him.”
BA informed his supervisor and was advised to play along. He met with the defendant in December and ZA gave him a list of nightclubs and said he would pay Dh10,000 if BA found one violation but did not report it and Dh15,000 if they were two.
“He also told me that I will keep receiving bribes for a year or two,” said BA. The defendant was arrested in a sting operation on February 11 when he met with the inspector and handed him a Dh15,000 bribe.
BA said he was responsible for ensuring nightclubs were adhering to regulations, as some venues would break the rules by allowing customers to dance while wearing Khaleeji traditional dress, or allow dancers to mingle with customers and open bottles of alcohol for them. Other violations included allowing a dancer to strip to her underwear. “The fine for any of these violations would be between Dh10,000 and Dh50,0000,” he said. He added that fines between Dh20,000 and Dh40,000 were given to one of the nightclubs, which were owned by the defendant’s friend.
Prosecutors said during interrogations the defendant confessed to offering the bribe, but denied the charge in court.
ZA has 15 days to appeal against the verdict.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps), 5.10pm
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Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
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It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
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Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
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The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
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