AN appeals court has upheld a guilty verdict against a single dad who was jailed after being found guilty of stealing a motorcycle and lying to authorities about his identity.
In August this year, the 31-year-old Bahraini was sentenced to three years behind bars by the High Criminal Court on theft and impersonation charges.
The defendant, who has a long criminal record, reportedly had pending warrants against him when an alert 38-year-old Bahraini policeman spotted him on March 10 this year fixing a motorcycle in an open area in Juffair.
When approached for a check, he presented the police officer with another person’s CPR; the photo in the smartcard didn’t match the defendant’s face.
When questioned he swore it was him and that it was an old picture.
However, a further check of the motorcycle’s licence plate and CPR number revealed that neither belonged to the defendant; policemen also discovered that he was already wanted on suspicion of theft.
The 31-year-old fled and hid in a nearby building but was eventually found and arrested.
During interrogations, he admitted to the impersonation charge, and claimed he had found the CPR on the ground and was meaning to hand it in to the police the following day.
Authorities were able to confirm the stolen vehicle’s real owner after checking the chassis serial number.
During the original trial, the father-of-three submitted a handwritten letter to judges, asking to be let out on bail, claiming he had no idea how his daughters were faring since his arrest earlier in the year.
“I have three daughters and I’m married to a non-Bahraini woman who is out of the country,” the letter read.
“I live with the children in a rented apartment and I have no one who will take care of them. They’re aged 12, eight and six and I haven’t been able to correspond with them or find out how they’re doing.”
According to court documents, the defendant had a history of crimes spanning more than 15 years, and has been convicted of a variety of felonies and misdemeanours.
He appealed the High Criminal Court verdict at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court which, however, upheld the original ruling.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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