Asian jailed for selling satellite channel decoders

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced an Asian to one month in jail and fined him Dhs5,000 and ordered his store to be shut down for one month, after being convicted of selling receivers that decode satellite channels without permission from an authorised channel agent.

The case dated back to July last year, when the Dubai Police’s Department of Anti-Economic Crimes received a complaint from the exclusive distributors and agents of satellite channels. According to the complaint, the defendant was selling receivers that opened and broadcast the complainants’ satellite channels, using unlicensed receivers illegally brought from an Asian country without obtaining permission from the satellite channel agents.

A team from Dubai Police had verified the accuracy of the information and obtained a permission from the Dubai Public Prosecution before they raided the defendant’s store, where three unlicensed satellite channel receivers were seized in the defendant’s possession.

On interrogation, the defendant admitted his responsibility for selling and promoting the seized receivers, which he imported from an Asian country illegally.

Recently, the Dubai Court of Appeal ruled that the jail term of a gang of 7 Asians be increased from 3 to 5 years to be followed by deportation after being convicted of stealing Dhs289,000.

CRANE SHAFT FALLS: A crane shaft fell on two vehicles on the Emirates Road in Umm Al Quwain on Tuesday, causing them to be severely damaged and their drivers to sustain multiple injuries.

A report to this effect was received by the Umm Al Quwain Police at 3pm on Tuesday.

The concerned authorities were notified accordingly and police patrols rushed to the scene of the accident.

According to Brigadier Khamis Salem Buharoun, Director General of Police Operations at Umm Al Quwain Police, the Asian driver of the crane that caused the accident was lifting a concrete pipe weighing nearly 20 tonnes on the Emirates Road leading to Ras Al Khaimah.

While the driver was about to lay the pipe on the ground, the rope broke off the pipe, causing the crane shaft to be pushed hard backwards and to fall onto the main street.

As a result, two vehicles were severely damaged and their drivers sustained multiple injuries.

The drivers were airlifted to the Sheikh Khalifa Hospital for the necessary medical treatment. The crane driver was charged with destroying the property of others and unintentionally compromising their safety.