A dealer refuses to return a stolen vehicle

The owner of a “refrigerator trailer” worth 88 thousand dirhams found his stolen vehicle, two months after it disappeared in the Al Awir area. He went to a dealer who owned it and asked him to return it, but he refused to do so, so a report was filed against him, and he was referred to the Public Prosecution in Dubai and then the Misdemeanor Court. On the charge of possessing items resulting from a theft crime by purchasing them for an amount less than their value, the court ruled that he be convicted, imprisoned for a month, fined the value of the trailer, and deported from the state. He appealed the ruling before the Court of Appeal, which upheld the penalty, but it canceled the deportation measure, and the two parties reconciled during the cassation stage, so the court ruled Upon the expiry of the case through reconciliation.

The details of the case stated, according to what was established in the court’s confidence and reassured its conscience, that the owner of the trailer parked it in a sandy yard in the Ras Al Khor area, and when he inspected it a few days later, he was surprised by its disappearance. He searched for it in the reservation network, auctions, and several places, but he did not find it, and after two months he found it. In the Al Awir area with the accused, he told him that he owned it and had its papers, and asked him to hand it over to him, but the accused refused, claiming that he had bought it from a driver in a transport company.

A prosecution witness stated that about a year and a half before the date of the case, a fleeing defendant seized the trailer and sold it to the defendant in this case for 63 thousand dirhams, indicating that the owner of the trailer tried, after finding it, to negotiate with the defendant by paying him a sum of money in exchange for concluding a contract. Buying and selling, but the accused

He refused and left outside the country. He was arrested on his return and charged with theft.

When the accused was questioned during the Public Prosecution’s investigations, he denied the charge against him, which was theft, and stated that he had bought the trailer from the last fugitive for 63 thousand dirhams, without documenting the sale. He did not ask the seller to prove his ownership of the trailer, and the latter told him that its customs card was missing.

After examining the case, the court said in presentation of its ruling that it is not a requirement for the elements of the crime to be present that the perpetrator has actual knowledge that the items are the result of a crime. Rather, it is sufficient to prove that the perpetrator obtained the item under circumstances that lead to belief in the illegality of its source, and assessing the availability of these circumstances is one of the matters. Objectivity that is subject to the authority of the trial judge, when he bases his ruling on justifiable reasons, derived from circumstances and circumstances surrounding the reality, such as the small price of the valuable goods being sold, and the nature of the place from which the purchase was made.

It stated that it is established that the crime of possession or concealment of things obtained by the perpetrator in circumstances that lead to the belief that their source is illegal, is based in its material element on mere possession, whether by purchase, deposit, gift, or otherwise, and its moral element is based if it is proven that the perpetrator has He obtained it under circumstances that lead to the belief that its source is illegal.

The court of first instance ruled that he be imprisoned for a month for what was charged to him, fined him 88 thousand dirhams of the crime, and ordered his deportation from the state.

In turn, the accused appealed the ruling before the Court of Appeal, maintaining his denial, as did the Public Prosecution, and the Court of Appeal ruled to uphold the initial ruling, but it canceled the deportation measure, and the case made its way to the Court of Cassation, which ruled that the two parties should be reconciled.