Dubai: A cleaner has been jailed for six months for stealing Dh6,800 from a saleswoman’s purse at an office that he was cleaning while she went to bring herself tea.
The 41-year-old Slovenian woman left her purse at her desk and went to make herself tea in March. The 32-year-old Filipino cleaner was dusting the office.
The saleswoman remained 20 minutes at the canteen before she returned to her desk and spotted the Filipino cleaning her laptop before she left to the washroom for ten more minutes.
When the Slovenian returned to her desk, she didn’t find her wallet when she opened her handbag to get some money for lunch.
The 41-year-old instantly asked the cleaner over the phone if he had taken her wallet, but he told her that he didn’t.
Later in the afternoon, the woman’s wallet was found empty and thrown at a place close to the building where she works, said records.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 32-year-old defendant of theft after he pleaded guilty.
According to Sunday’s ruling, the accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The Slovenian said she discovered that her wallet was missing once she returned from the washroom.
“When I opened my bag to get money to buy lunch, I realised that the money had gone. I had spotted the accused dusting my laptop … that was very strange and it was the first time that he had done that. When I called the cleaner on his mobile and asked him if he had taken my wallet, he denied … he also told me ‘prove that I am a thief … you do not have a camera’. In the afternoon, someone found my wallet thrown at a nearby place. It was empty when I opened it,” the woman said.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
