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A CARELESS, convicted thief, who burgled a house in his own neighbourhood and then pawned off the ornate gold jewellery he stole, has lost an appeal against a five-year prison sentence.
The Bahraini had sneaked into the Nuwaidrat house, going room to room to snatch valuables – from laptops and iPads to a diamond-studded gold ring, a blood sugar monitor, and even an open box of cigarettes.
The court heard that he took shirts from the clothesline on the balcony and went so far as to take a bag from the maid’s room containing her identity documents and some clothing – but left behind some of his own possessions.
In July, the High Criminal Court found the unemployed 38-year-old guilty on five charges, including theft, impersonation and falsifying a signature for his own profit.
He managed to pull off the four-part scheme, which involved two house burglaries and two instances of impersonation, but failed to cover his tracks and was eventually caught.
After the theft, he went to a gift shop to sell the ill-gotten gold using the identity of a person whose CPR card he stole, and fled in a getaway car he rented with the stolen ID.
The court heard that the first part of the heist took place when the repeat offender broke into a house in Jerdab, stealing a CPR card, bank card and gold jewellery.
For the second part of the plan, the appellant burgled the house of a government official in Nuwaidrat, going from room to room to grab whatever he could get his hands on.
Starting with the home office, he took three laptops and four iPads, and the homeowner’s wallet.
From the bedroom, he lifted a gold chain and a gold ring encrusted with diamonds, worth nearly BD2,000. His next stop was the domestic worker’s room, where he stole a bag containing her clothes and ID papers. From the kitchen counter, he swiped a wristwatch and BD100, along with a sugar monitor, some medications and cigarettes.
His final stop was the balcony, where he snatched a number of clothes left out to dry.
When the man had to exit the house, he left behind some of his belongings, including his portable charger, a shirt, and drug paraphernalia.
The court heard that he had entered the Nuwaidrat house without breaking in, exploiting his presence in the vicinity ‘looking for drugs to consume’ to constantly watch the residents.
When he made sure that the house was empty, he snuck in through an open window. He then left the house with his loot, stashing it behind a palm tree near the property to come back and retrieve it later.
The scheme culminated in the third part, when the Bahraini went to a gift shop specialised in selling watches, gold and silver, where he pawned off the gold taken from the first house.
When the suspect was eventually tracked down, he was convicted of five charges, including maliciously using another individual’s identity card to unlawfully benefit from it and stealing others’ property. He was further charged with falsifying the victim’s signature on the receipt, which was used to complete the gold transaction, and using the document with knowledge of its illegitimate nature.
The GDN earlier reported that the Bahraini had several convictions of theft and impersonation on record, and had previously planned to burgle a house in Jerdab.
He admitted to the charges, and was recorded by security cameras while pawning the valuables.
Forensics teams also stated that traces of his DNA were found in the driver’s seat of the car.
He took to the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to contest the verdict, but judges ruled to uphold it.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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