Dubai court fines man Dhs20,000 for threatening to set warehouse on fire

Dubai Misdemeanors Court fined a warehouse tenant Dhs5,000 for threatening the property owner to set fire on the facility and leave the country. The verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The property owner then resorted to civil courts, demanding compensation of Dhs20 million and the Dubai Civil Court ordered the tenant to pay Dhs20,000 in compensation.

Earlier, a property owner filed a complaint in which he stated that he was threatened by a tenant with setting fire to a warehouse he owned, adding that he met with the tenant and asked for an increase in the rent for the following year, but the tenant did not agree to what he asked.

He added that a verbal altercation took place during the meeting where the tenant admitted that he could not afford for any increase in the rent, adding that if the property owner did not agree to re-let the warehouse at the same price, he would set the warehouse on fire and leave the country.

The police were notified accordingly of the incident and after admitting to making the threat, the tenant was referred to the Public Prosecution and subsequently to Dubai Misdemeanors Court, which convicted him and issued the aforementioned verdict.

According to the case file, the landlord filed a civil lawsuit in which he requested the court to obligate the tenant to pay compensation for the material and moral harms he had befallen based on the final criminal verdict and the resulting psychological harms and constant fear for his property, not to mention the guarding expenses he allegedly paid.

During the proceedings, the defendant insisted on contesting the case, while the court considered the availability of the elements of liability including fault, harms and causal relationship, affirming the validity of the verdict in proving the incident and attributing it to the perpetrator, while maintaining its independence in assessing the harms incurred.

The court concluded that the threat was proven and caused moral harms to the landlord in the form of fear and panic, but it did not find sufficient evidence of actual material harms or proven expenses, considering that what was mentioned in this regard remained within the realm of possibility.

Based on the above, the court estimated the compensation due for the moral harms at Dhs20,000 with legal interest at 5 per cent from the date the judgment became final until full payment. It also obligated the tenant to pay the incurred charges, expenses and lawyer’s fees.