Man pays Dh120,000 worth of bribes in Dubai to see dying son

Khaleej Times -- A lawyer has requested the Dubai Court of First Instance to clear his client of a bribery charge, saying his act did not have a criminal intention.

The Palestinian man is accused of offering Dh120,000 worth of bribes to an officer at the Dubai International Airport to help him travel despite having a criminal case of a dud cheque. Advocate Nasser Hachem argued his client wanted to travel to be by the side of his nine-year-old dying son. "He was not able to travel because there was a criminal case against him. So he had no other option but to seek the help of the officer in order to see and help in the treatment his son, who is suffering from leukemia."

The lawyer requested the court to clear his client, whom he described as a "law-abiding resident who never broke the law since he came to the country in 1992". "I plead you to exert leniency towards him as he badly needed to be there for his son while the latter underwent urgent surgeries. The costs of his son's treatment were the reason behind the dud cheque case against him."

According to court documents, the accused paid the Emirati officer the amount in two installments between September and December last year for him to be able to travel to Amman and Beirut. The latter is also standing trial on the charge of accepting a bribe in his capacity as a public officer.