A habitual bike thief, accused at least six times of stealing motorcycles, bicycles or scooters, is on trial at the High Criminal Court for stealing yet another motorbike.
The 26-year-old Bahraini was charged with stealing an Indian man’s motorcycle with his phone in it, cracking his BenefitPay app and transferring BD260 to himself.
The court heard that the victim’s PIN – 123456 – was so weak that the defendant was able to break into his online banking with ease.
Bikes from brands like Bajaj, Aprilia, Kawasaki, Suzuki and even a Saudi make named Mehdi, were listed as having been stolen by the defendant on his criminal record.
According to the record, he has spent a year and eight months in prison in four bike theft cases, but was also previously accused of dining and dashing, using drugs and minor assault.
Although he was charged with misdemeanours in the aforementioned petty theft cases, he is facing felony charges this time around for allegedly accessing the Indian man’s bank account without permission.
“It was late at night when I parked my motorcycle outside my flat in Gudaibiya, which I later learned was stolen,” the 46-year-old alleged Indian victim earlier testified.
“I had left my Huawei phone in it, and I received three notifications that transfers were made from my account – a total of BD260.400 – but I hadn’t made the transfers.
“The person who stole my phone was able to break into my BenefitPay because my PIN was easy to guess; just 123456.”
A letter from the victim’s bank stated that the beneficiary of these transactions was the defendant himself. In Public Prosecution hearings, he reportedly admitted to wiring the money. Security cameras also reportedly captured him in the act.
The Bahraini was charged with using the victim’s electronic signature for illicit ends, unlawfully accessing his digital banking, taking his money through deception, and stealing his property.
The incident took place in 2023, but it is only being heard in court now. Following this incident, he went on to steal four more motorcycles.
On multiple occasions, he had stolen the bikes from outside the owners’ flats or places of residence. In another case, he stole a Kawasaki motorcycle from a seller, claiming he was taking it on a test drive, but never returned it.
In 2023, he was accused of stealing a man’s 1995 Camry after the victim went into a mosque to perform dawn prayers.
He was also previously accused of kidnapping his own younger sisters, whose custody had been rewarded to his father, and taking them to live with their mother.
The hearing was adjourned to August 8 for defence arguments.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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