Duo fined Dhs250,000 each for Snapchat crime

Aya Al Deeb, Staff Reporter

The Court of First Instance in Abu Dhabi fined two persons Dhs250,000 each on charges of insulting a person and outraging his modesty by calling him a fraudster through Snapchat.

The victim filed a complaint indicating that two persons sent him two messages via Snapchat, a video and a voice recording, containing insults, while he was presenting an advertisement about a perfume shop through the site.

The complainant presented a flash memory containing the video and audio recording and said he knew only the names of the two persons on their accounts.

The suspects were arrested and the public prosecution charged them with insulting the victim, after checking the flash memory which contained a recording by the first suspect commenting on the victim, besides a video by the second describing the victim with the words “You are vapid.”

The Court of First Instance fined each suspect Dhs250,000 and ordered the confiscation of mobile phones used in the crime.

The suspects appealed to the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal that accepted the two appeals in form and rejected them in subject.

The first suspect’s lawyer appealed to the Court of Cassation, that overturned the appealed verdict and set a hearing for the case.

The Court of Cassation pointed out that the suspect insulted the victim, according to the flash memory.

The court also affirmed its conviction of the validity of the verdict of the Court of Appeal, which requires the conviction of the suspects.

The court commuted the fine on the first suspect to Dhs10,000 and obliged him to pay the legal fees of the case.

In an unrelated recent incident, a divorced expat woman used Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to attract donors and gull them into arranging expenses of raising her children. She posted their photos to back the claim she was suffering. She managed to rake in $50,000 in 17 days. The Dubai Police eCrime platform took action after her ex-husband – a GCC national – filed a complaint and proved the children were living with him for years, enjoying a decent life.

Brigadier Al Jallaf said, “The anti-begging campaign succeeded in spreading awareness in several languages. Cops nabbed 128 beggars, including 85 males and 43 females. There were 108 visitors, 19 residents, and 1 Gulf national.