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A young man has been sentenced to one year in prison for stealing a car and totalling another that had been entrusted to him by a Bahraini living outside the country.
Although the victim dropped all charges against the defendant and waived his right to seek civil damages, the High Criminal Court convicted the Muharraq man of forgery and theft.
The court heard that the owner, who lives in Dammam, handed his cars to the 22-year-old Bahraini acquaintance, asking him to re-register and insure the vehicles on his behalf before driving them to Saudi Arabia.
Instead of completing the paperwork as instructed, the defendant forged the owner’s signature to transfer one of the cars to his own name before selling it because a friend ‘needed the money’.
Two days after receiving the vehicles, the defendant called the owner to inform him that he had crashed one of the cars, which, according to court documents, was declared a ‘total loss’. He, however, promised to compensate the owner with BD2,500, but asked for more time to raise the funds.
Two months later, the 33-year-old owner returned to Bahrain in another vehicle and asked for the money, but the defendant requested more time.
When the owner later attempted to leave Bahrain via the King Fahad Causeway, he was stopped because his vehicle’s registration and insurance had not been renewed. He then contacted the defendant once again to complete the required procedures.
A few days later, while checking the eTraffic application, the owner discovered that both vehicles were no longer registered in his name, the court heard.
When questioned, the defendant told him that one car was totalled, and that he transferred the second to his own name before selling it ‘since his friend needed the money’. The owner then reported the man to authorities.
The Public Prosecution charged the young Bahraini with misappropriating property entrusted to him, causing financial harm to its owner. He was also accused of forging the victim’s signature on vehicle ownership transfer documents and knowingly using the forged documents.
The court convicted him of all charges.
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