DUBAI// Two electricians admitted digging up and stealing 50kg of cables owned by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, and selling them to a man at the Sharjah Industrial area, a court heard this morning.
The Bangladeshi defendants, RM, 21, and SA, 25, were arrested after 2.30am on February 27 after a police officer on patrol saw them getting out of a taxi in a remote area, prosecutors told the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.
The officer, AA, said in his testimony that he spotted the two men in a deserted sandy area in Al Khawaneej.
The men were getting out of a Sharjah taxi, which made the officer suspicious. He said he stopped one of the men and asked him why he was in that area at such a late hour.
The man told him he lived there, but failed to produce any identification, the officer said, according to court records.
While the officer was questioning the man, the taxi sped away, leaving the officer and the other defendant behind, prosecutors said.
The officer got into his patrol car, chased the taxi, and stopped it, according to court records.
The second defendant was found in the back seat of the vehicle with two bags containing large iron scissors and several empty plastic bags.
During investigations, both men confessed that they had previously dug up buried cables owned by the electricity and water authority, and had removed the tags that identified their owner. They said they had sold the cables from their previous theft to another man in Sharjah, according to court records.
The men were trying to steal more cables when the police officer caught them, prosecutors said.
The men await a verdict on April 5.
salamir@thenational.ae
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
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