A Dubai court has fined a cleaner Dh9,500 after he stole a mobile phone from a concertgoer—only for the device to be stolen from him the very same day.
According to a report by Gulf News, the case began when an Asian man lost his Samsung phone during a musical show he attended with his wife at a popular entertainment and shopping destination. When he realized it had slipped from his pocket, he returned to the venue and asked a cleaner if he had seen it. The worker falsely claimed a woman had already picked it up and left.
Police investigations later revealed the cleaner himself had taken the phone from under the victim’s chair and hidden it in his locker at the staff quarters. However, by the end of his shift, he discovered that someone else had stolen the handset from his locker.
The court ruled that the cleaner unlawfully appropriated lost property with the intent to keep it, ordering him to pay a Dh5,000 fine plus an additional Dh4,500 to cover the value of the phone.
Judges noted that the ruling was based on the cleaner’s own confession, along with witness testimony and supporting evidence. While convicting him, the court showed some leniency in sentencing, citing the unusual twist of the case.
