Civil Defence inspector jailed six years for corruption

Man took bribes for cancelling a fine and forging safety certificates.

DUBAI // A Civil Defence inspector who took Dh18,000 in bribes to cancel a fine and issued forged safety certificates has been jailed for six years.

The Bahraini inspector R T, 33, cancelled a Dh50,000 fine levied on a driver for carrying diesel in his lorry without a licence.

He also forged certificates to show the diesel tanks of the driver’s company met the safety guidelines of the department, the court heard.

He accepted a Dh10,000 bribe from Pakistani driver A Z, and took Dh8,000 from manager A A, also from Pakistan, to issue the four certificates.

The driver said he had paid money but it was not a bribe.

“I did not pay him a bribe, I paid him the money after he claimed to me that he would slash the Dh50,000 fine to half,” he told the court.

The faulty tanks were discovered during a surprise inspection at the company last year after an internal investigation exposed the inspector’s corruption.

The driver and manager denied charges of paying bribes but were convicted of aiding and abetting the inspector.

The driver was sentenced to a year in prison and fined Dh10,000, while the manager was jailed two years. Both will be deported after serving their jail terms.

The inspector was not in court in July to enter a plea, but he was also fined Dh10,000 at Dubai Criminal Court on Tuesday.