Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Aya Al Deeb, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal heard a case in which an African was charged with robbing a food store by brandishing a knife and a firearm and threatening the staff before taking the money available in the till.

According to the official records, the defendant entered the store with a knife and a firearm in his hand. He threatened the store’s staff and customers to keep away from him to be able to take the money available in the till. The staff, however, were able to catch him and call the police.

The Court of First Instance sentenced the defendant to three years in jail to be followed by deportation. The defendant, however, was not satisfied with the verdict and appealed against it.

Asked by the Court of Appeal, the defendant denied the charge levelled against him, pleading that he did not steal anything from the store. He requested the court to have him deported as soon as possible because he was the only breadwinner of his family. The court decided to adjourn the verdict.

In another case, The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal on Wednesday heard a case in which an Asian was charged with issuing a dud cheque for Dhs1.167 million and presenting it to a government entity.

The defendant confessed to the court to having issued the cheque, pleading that he could not provide the money because he was arrested for another case before the cheque was due.

The defendant requested the court for mercy by commuting the Court of First Instance’s jail term. The defendant’s lawyer asked the court to adjourn the hearing until he would prepare his defence and have a copy of the case file.

In response, the court decided to adjourn the hearing till Sunday, September 8.

Recently, the Sharjah Criminal Court heard a case in which an Asian was charged with stealing 200 mobile phones from a hypermarket in the emirate in addition to the store owners’ personal documents and gold jewellery (worth Dhs 300) from a safe.