Man who could not afford to pay blood money released from Dubai jail

Dubai Courts teamed up with charitable foundation to help settle the Dh200,000 owed to the family of a man who died in a traffic accident.

DUBAI // A man who was behind bars for five months because he could not afford to pay blood money has walked free.

Dubai Courts helped to settle the Dh200,000 he owed to the family of a man who was killed in a traffic accident.

The man was convicted over the wrongful death and destruction of private property after the incident in November 2012. He served one month in jail at the start of this year and had his driving licence suspended for three months, in addition to being ordered to pay the blood money. He remained in jail for a further five months after serving his sentence.

Prosecutors said the accident caused the death of one man and the injury of another person. The defendant had lost control of the vehicle and collided with another car.

Counsellor Salah Al Falasi, the director of traffic prosecution in Dubai, said: “He was kept in jail after he finished his sentence for five months. He paid the fines against him, however he couldn’t settle the blood money.”

Prosecutors looked into his case and found that he was the only breadwinner in his family and that he has children.

“Dubai traffic prosecution coordinated with DIB Foundation and were able to settle the blood money for the defendant,” Mr Al Falasi added.

Between 2013 and last year, there was 183 defendants who were not able to pay blood money amounting to a total of Dh30.6 million.

“Dubai Public Prosecution coordinates between charities and insurance companies to help the defendants in settling the blood money with the families of the victims,” he said.