Jobless man steals charity box from pharmacy, Dubai court hears

No money was left in the shop overnight so the Pakistani took the Dubai Autism Centre charity box, prosecutors say.

DUBAI // An unemployed 30-year-old broke into a pharmacy and stole a Dubai Autism Centre charity box, Dubai Criminal Court has heard.

Pakistani T K is charged with armed robbery and with damaging property, both of which he denied in court.

On September 30 last year, Egyptian pharmacy manager T A, 30, said that the shop’s door was locked at 11.30pm.

“The next morning, when one of the employees arrived to open up, he found the main door smashed and glass everywhere on the floor. He checked the contents of the pharmacy and everything was in place, except for the charity money box,” said the manager.

He added that there was no money kept in the pharmacy, in Al Quoz, overnight.

Indian witness A K, 34, told the court: “I saw a suspicious man near the pharmacy at 3am when I was still at my restaurant, then I saw him smashing the door, getting in and out of the pharmacy so quickly.”

The defendant was identified through footage from the pharmacy security camera and was apprehended 20 days later.

The next hearing will be on March 17.