ABU DHABI // A Briton is appealing against his conviction for assaulting a taxi driver and not paying the fare.
At about midnight on December 10 last year, the defendant, I J, took the taxi from a hotel on Yas Island to his home in Al Zeina Residences.
The fare was Dh9, but the taxi driver, M D, charged him Dh42.
The defendant did not have any small change, so he handed the driver a Dh500 note. But the driver refused to take the money and told him to withdraw cash from an ATM machine.
The Briton went to get the money and returned after about 30 minutes. He said he still did not have the cash, but asked the driver to take him to his house where he had money for the fare.
The Briton’s lawyer claimed that the driver then lost his temper and started screaming at his passenger and began grappling with him.
Despite a medical report stating that the driver was injured, the lawyer said there was no evidence that the driver was hurt during the scuffle.
Citing the prosecution charges, the lawyer said the trip took 20 minutes, which meant that the driver had clearly overcharged for the journey, considering the distance travelled.
“These taxi drivers hunt well-off expats to trap them,” said the lawyer. “He [the taxi driver] complained three days later and asked for Dh10,000 in compensation.”
The lawyer said the defendant and his wife both worked in Abu Dhabi and they had just bought a house worth Dh2 million.
The Briton had also recently begun work on a lucrative project in Saudi Arabia and was visiting his wife when the incident occurred.
Therefore the Briton could obviously afford to pay the taxi fare, said the lawyer. “If he did not want to pay he wouldn’t have returned to the driver, and he asked him [the driver] to follow him to his house and wait for him there,” said the lawyer.
Furthermore, the Briton had spent more than Dh70,000 travelling between the UAE and Saudi Arabia for his court hearings.
The lawyer also referred to Article 395 of the penal code, which penalises every passenger who refuses to pay a taxi fare without a valid reason.
But the Briton did have a valid reason not to pay, said the lawyer, who ended his argument by ataching Dh9 to his defence memo for the case and asked that his client be acquitted.
The Briton had previously been fined Dh2,000. A verdict will be announced on April 30.
hdajani@thenational.ae
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
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Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
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Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Sand Castle
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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
