Dubai // A con man posed as a municipality inspector and threatened a manager into handing over a Dh40,000 fine, a court heard.
N R, 44, forged a letter addressed to the victim’s company fining it Dh300,000 for building an illegal extension that was intended for holding religious ceremonies, it was alleged at Dubai Criminal Court.
N R, who is from Pakistan, then gave the letter to the Indian manager, S S, in 2010.
“I felt strange because we have been working for 20 years and all our procedures are legal,” said S S, 55, who added that the defendant and two other men met him and claimed they could help to sort out the fine.
“They asked for Dh150,000 but I said it was too much. Then I checked with the municipality, which told me that they did not issue a fine against my company.
“But they asked me to keep in touch with them because police were working on the case,” said S S.
Negotiations continued with the three men and the amount was reduced to Dh40,000.
When the men threatened S S with “trouble” if he did not pay more, he went to the police.
Prosecutors charged N R with forgery of an official document and using it, impersonation of a public employee and fraudulently obtaining Dh40,000 from the victim.
The next hearing was scheduled for December 22.
salamir@thenational.ae