Government employee offered bribe, woman lands in jail

Giving and taking bribes is a punishable crime that can put the offenders in prison. And that is what happened to this woman.

An Arab woman, who offered chocolates and Dh500 as a bribe to a female employee in traffic and licensing department of the Sharjah Police, has been sentenced to six months in jail and fined Dh5,000 before being deported.

The woman – who reportedly failed the driving test seven times – allegedly bribed the female staff to help her get over the hurdle while requesting her to issue her a driving license.

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The court charged the woman with bribery.

The female traffic official said she informed the police because she couldn’t have done something that violated her job ethics.

The police records showed that the accused offered the money as the bribe, which was punishable under Articles 237 and 238 of the Federal Penal Code.

During the court hearing, the defendant said that she gave the money and chocolates as a gift and had no intention to bribe the staff. During prosecution’s investigation, the plaintiff said that the accused had told her about the difficulty in obtaining a license because of repeatedly failing the driving tests.

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The accused, who is in her thirties, claimed to be innocent since the beginning of the investigation, saying that she didn’t seek any favor from the staff.

However, the court refused to accept her defense and sentenced her to prison while slapping a fine on her.

Article 237 of the Federal Penal Code says that any offer made to a public official or a public servant, even if he or she has not accepted it, shall be punished by imprisonment.

Article 238 underlines that the offender shall be fined Dh1,000 or more for the crime.