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A three-time convicted phone thief has lost his court appeal after being found guilty of impersonating a man whose lost wallet he found, renting a car in the wallet owner’s name, and then stealing it.
Using the stolen vehicle, he robbed four electronics stores, stealing one mobile phone from each. He reportedly committed the thefts while in full military uniform, even though he was no longer a service member.
The High Criminal Court previously sentenced the man to five years in prison. He appealed to the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court against the ruling, but the judges dismissed his plea.
The 41-year-old Bahraini appellant had already been found guilty in two court cases over the phone thefts, and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, while a third case was dismissed.
In the current case, he was tried as a repeat offender on charges of using an identity card belonging to another person – a driver’s licence he found in the missing wallet – to unlawfully benefit from it and commit a crime.
He was also charged with falsifying the victim’s signature on the car rental agreement, and using the partially falsified document as if it were valid. He was found guilty of all charges.
The victim, whose identity was used in the crime, earlier testified that he lost his wallet in June 2025, and that a month later an employee of the rental company had come to his home to take the car back.
After learning that his driver’s licence and CPR card were attached to the rental contract, he realised that someone was taking advantage of his lost cards, and had also forged his signature.
He soon discovered that car rental companies had lodged several police reports against him.
A forgery expert stated that the victim’s signature was not genuine, having been replicated by another individual, but could not confirm that it was the suspect’s doing.
The GDN previously reported that an Indian rental agency employee recalled that a uniformed man, wearing a medical mask and sunglasses, had come to rent a Honda and presented the victim’s credentials.
He added that the man never came back to return the vehicle, and had an outstanding bill of BD100 for the fees he never paid. The expat identified the appellant when shown a photo of him.
According to a police officer who led the investigation, the ex-military man drove the car to several shops, and committed multiple documented thefts using it as his method of transportation.
The Bahraini had been arrested after renting a Chinese car from another agency. He was already in police custody when officers found the lost wallet on his person, as well as the Honda’s keys. The missing car was discovered in Dar Kulaib.
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