A Dubai police officer has been convicted of stopping a man on Sheikh Zayed Road and stealing his cash and mobile phone.
The Sudanese cop, 23, was sentenced to a year in jail on Sunday to be followed by deportation.
Dubai Criminal Court heard that the officer worked with a Sudanese friend, 33, to stage the false arrest of the owner, who was Chinese.
The friend - who spoke Mandarin well - struck up a conversation with the Chinese Porsche Cayenne owner at a nightclub in the city's Jumeirah area.
The owner gave him a ride down Sheikh Zayed Road when they were pulled over by the police officer in a staged incident.
“Two officers approached me and asked for my licence, then one of them snatched my phone and the other took me to the patrol car," said the Chinese national, who was described as a manager in the private sector.
"[The Sudanese translator] friend asked me for Dh27,000 to solve the problem. I told him I didn’t have that amount."
He said he was told he could be jailed for three months for an unspecified offence.
They put the Chinese man in the patrol vehicle and drove around for about 10 minutes before stopping and heading to speak to the translator, who was following them in the Porsche.
“I didn’t know what they said but then my friend asked me to hand in whatever cash I had, so I gave him Dh3,000,” the Chinese man said.
The translator then allegedly took him aside and asked for Dh17,000, which he said he would use to solve the problem with the police.
“He asked me for a family member’s number who he can negotiate with regarding the amount, then drove me to International City, where we waited for my brother to arrive. He searched me and took my ATM [card] then I fled,” said the Chinese man.
The next morning, he headed to Bur Dubai police station and reported the car and cash theft.
A second officer, an Emirati, was originally accused of being in on the scam but was cleared on Sunday.
The Sudanese translator was convicted of aiding and abetting and sentenced to a year to be followed by deportation.
