Thief sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking alcohol

A court that reduced a man’s jail term for stealing has ordered he be lashed as a punishment for consuming liquor.

Fujairah Court of Appeal added the new sentence of 80 lashings as it reduced a one-year prison sentence for theft to three months.

The court was told that the Arab man had stolen a mobile phone.

He had gone into a store accompanied by a friend and asked staff if they wanted to buy a used phone from him.

When he left the store, employees found a handset was missing. CCTV showed the man stealing the phone.

The man had argued that he was not aware of his actions because he was drunk when he committed the crime.

His friend was ordered to pay a Dhs1,000 fine for not reporting the crime to police.