DUBAI// The acquittal of a man who was charged with impersonating a public employee after he entered the burning Address Downtown Dubai hotel building wearing a firefighter’s uniform and made a video of himself there was upheld.
Prosecutors had appealed the acquittal of the 34-year-old Emirati for charges of wearing an official uniform in public.
The man insisted he was a fireman.
The Court of Appeal heard that on New Year’s Eve, as a blaze engulfed the hotel, the man dressed as a fireman and walked barefoot in the hotel.
He was also charged with circulating information online after he made a video from inside the hotel of himself.
At trial in Dubai Criminal Court in June, prosecutors said that by sharing the video on WhatsApp he had mocked and damaged the reputation of the firefighters who were trying to extinguish the blaze.
Prosecutors said the clip showed him on the hotel’s 35th floor, smoking, downing cans of soft drinks and stating that he had the fire under control.
The man admitted he entered the hotel dressed as a fireman, but denied he had intended to insult anybody.
“It is true that I made the video but I did not circulate it among the public I only sent it to a group of four people who are work colleagues,” the man told the presiding judge Fahad Rashid Al Shamsi.
He said he had been a fireman in Dubai for 15 years.
“I moved from Dubai to join Abu Dhabi Civil Defence in 2014, and on the night of the fire I was there and contacted the head of on-site control team and volunteered to help,” said the man.
“He agreed after which I was handed the uniform and a pair of shoes.”
“If they gave you shoes, why were you barefoot?” asked the judge. The man claimed the shoes were too big for him.
“I have witnesses to prove this,” he said.
The man was apprehended after the clip was seen by authorities.
A policeman told the court that when the man was arrested he said he had used his old uniform to sneak through the crowds watching the fire and into the hotel.
“Afterwards he made the clip he sent it to his friends to show off,” said a 36-year-old policeman.
The man underwent a mental evaluation at the psychiatry section in Rashid Hospital where a report confirmed he was mentally competent and aware of his actions and their consequences.
salamir@thenational.ae