Dubai court fines Indian man $136,000 for RTA insult

Dubai’s Court of First Instance has sentenced an Indian worker to a Dhs500,000 ($136,125) fine and three months in prison for accusing the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of ripping off the poor.

Gulf News reports that the 25-year-old sent the authority a disgruntled email accusing it of taking “poor people’s money by making them intentionally fail in driving tests and forcing them to repeat the tests” after he failed his test.

The RTA reported the email to Dubai Police.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal handed out the Dhs500,000 fine for mocking and offending a government department via email after the defendant pleaded not guilty.

“The mobile device that was used in the crime will be confiscated. The defendant will be deported following the completion of his punishment,” he was quoted as saying.

The man was charged for being in breach of the county’s cybercrime laws and misusing email.

He argued he was frustrated after failing the test and sent the message from his iPhone.

The defendant was not present in court for the ruling but has 15 days to appeal.

The UAE’s cyber and hate crime laws are among the strictest in the world and can see people fined heavily and jailed for comments deemed insulting that were made through social media and other digital channels.

An Emirati woman was previously fined Dhs500,000 in 2016 for cursing against her uncle and a historic Muslim scholar on Whatsapp.

Read: UAE woman fined Dhs 500,000 for Whatsapp comments