The Dubai Civil Court has ordered five Asian nationals to pay AED 650,000 to a victim of theft in a case where they impersonated law enforcement officers.

The defendants deceived the victim into believing they were police officers conducting a search, during which they stole his phone, identity card, bank card, and a bag containing AED 600,000.

According to the details of the case, the victim reported that he was stationary inside a building in the Al Baraha area when the accused approached him.

They displayed fake military IDs, conducted a search, and subsequently took his possessions while instructing him not to move until they could summon other officers from the investigative team.

After a period, the victim realized that no officers were coming and that he had been robbed.

The public prosecution charged the defendants with impersonating police officers and theft.

The lower court sentenced them to six months in prison and imposed a fine of AED 600,000 collectively.

This ruling was upheld in subsequent legal proceedings, which allowed the victim to pursue the recovery of the stolen amount under civil transaction law, in addition to legal interest and compensation for material and moral damages.

During the trial, the court noted that according to Articles 35 of the Evidence Law and 269 of the Criminal Procedure Law, a civil court is required to abide by the rulings of a criminal court that has resolved fundamental aspects related to both civil and criminal claims.

Once a criminal court makes a definitive ruling on these matters, a civil court must respect this decision without re-examining those issues.

The court defined moral damage as anything that affects dignity, emotions, or honor, including psychological pain, and emphasized that assessing this damage and the resulting compensation is within the discretion of the trial court, as long as there are no legal standards mandating specific criteria.

The judgment affirmed that the defendants were guilty based on the previous criminal ruling, where they unlawfully seized AED 600,000 from the victim through the aforementioned methods.

It was determined that the victim suffered financial damage due to the loss of the amount and the costs associated with filing the complaint and legal proceedings, as well as moral damage due to the distress caused by the loss of his funds.

Consequently, the court mandated the defendants to jointly pay the stolen amount and an additional AED 50,000 as compensation for both material and moral damages, along with the legal fees and costs of the lawsuit.