Man appeals conviction for theft of Dh73,000 from car

ABU DHABI // Three thieves stole Dh73,000 from a car after telling its driver he had a flat tyre, a court heard yesterday.

A Palestinian man convicted by the Court of First Instance appeared in the Appeals Court to deny taking part in the theft.

The court heard that the driver had left the money - much of which had been exchanged for US dollars - on the passenger seat of his car when three men knocked on his window and told him he had a flat tyre.

He went to check the tyre but when he returned to the driver's seat the money was gone.

A witness told him that three men had stolen the money and run away.

The Palestinian man was arrested after police examined fingerprints on the victim's car.

The accused's lawyer told the court that the driver had changed his description of the thieves.

He said the three men were originally described as Asian, but that the driver changed his statement when he saw the arrested man was Palestinian.

The lawyer also argued that as his client lives in the same building as the driver, his client could easily have left fingerprints on the car on some other occasion.

The case was adjourned until March 14.

hdajani@thenational.ae