An Asian woman in Abu Dhabi has been ordered by the Family, Civil, and Administrative Claims Court to pay Dh118,600 in compensation after she illegally used her former employer’s SIM card, accumulating significant charges over a four-year period. The court’s decision followed the woman’s failure to attend the hearing despite being notified via text message.
According to a report from the Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm, the plaintiff, a man who had employed the woman, discovered that she continued to use his SIM card after leaving her job, resulting in substantial financial losses. The court found the defendant criminally liable for stealing the phone and using the SIM card without the man’s consent.
Although the plaintiff sought to hold the woman responsible for any future charges on the SIM card, the court denied this request due to a lack of evidence that she still possessed the card or that the plaintiff had not cancelled the service.
The case was adjudicated based on the Law of Evidence in Civil and Commercial Transactions, which states that a criminal conviction in a related case is binding in civil claims. The woman was also fined Dh30,000 and ordered to pay attorney’s fees and court costs. The court recognized both the financial and emotional harm caused to the plaintiff by the woman’s actions.