Dubai: An employee has been jailed for three months and fined Dh20,000 for organising a gambling game at a public place and allowing pedestrians to play for money.
A police car was patrolling in front of a money exchange house in May at Al Muhaisnah when a policeman spotted a crowd surrounding the 31-year-old Indian employee.
The policeman headed towards the crowd and found out that the 31-year-old had been running a street gambling game, by using a torchlight and a gambling device, and was calling pedestrians to bet.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of organising a gambling game in public and fined him Dh20,000.
According to Wednesday’s ruling, the defendant will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
When he appeared in court, the accused pleaded guilty and confessed that he organised the gambling game in public.
The policeman who arrested him testified that he saw a crowd surrounding the defendant at 8pm. “When I went to check what was happening, I realised that the crowd were gambling beside the pavement. The defendant was taken into custody immediately for organising the gambling game in a public place. We seized a torchlight and a device that he had been using as part of the game. We also found in his possession Dh415 that he had made out of the gambling … he admitted that he organised the gambling game,” the policeman said.
The accused was quoted as admitting to prosecutors that he organised the gambling game in public and invited people to bet for money.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
