He paid a heavy price for ignoring the legalities.
Buying a brand new cell phone from a random person for Dh300 without demanding a purchase invoice turned out to be a costly affair for a 32-year-old Asian worker.

He was sentenced to three months in jail and fined Dh5,000 in absentia by a Sharjah court for overlooking the legal procedures to buy goods.

He had been sentenced by the court for possession of a stolen phone, purchased from a seller without obtaining an invoice. On Wednesday, the defendant appeared at the Sharjah Criminal Court and challenged the verdict.

He admitted to having paid a heavy price for ignoring the legalities. He told the presiding judge, Mahmood Abu Baker, that he had met the seller near his building in January this year. The seller offered a new Samsung phone for a throwaway price of Dh300.

The defendant said he did not know the phone was stolen. He also said he did not know the person who sold him the phone nor did he seek an identification document from him.

The buyer was "shocked" when he was arrested by the police for possession of a stolen phone. He further told the court that the seller fled the UAE after he sold him the phone.

The trial has been postponed until July 29.

SOURCE : KHALEEJTIMES