RAK court rejects compensation claim over false theft accusation

Ras Al Khaimah : The Ras Al Khaimah Court of First Instance has dismissed a claim for compensation of Dh50,000 filed by a woman who alleged material and moral damages after being falsely accused of stealing from a villa.

The court’s decision came after it found no sufficient evidence to support the theft allegations.

The plaintiff had sought compensation for damages caused by a report made by the defendant, accusing her of breaking into his home and stealing property.

The initial ruling declared the plaintiff innocent, concluding that there was no concrete evidence in the case file to substantiate the accusations. However, the court clarified that the acquittal was based on the absence of evidence against the plaintiff, not on the validity of the incident itself. Therefore, the defendant’s act of reporting the crime was considered a legitimate exercise of his legal right.

The court further emphasised that because the defendant’s actions were legally justified, the conditions for civil liability and compensation were not met, leading to the rejection of the plaintiff’s lawsuit.

The Hanan Salem Al Shammili’s Law Firm, legal representative of the defendant, stated that the client had simply exercised the lawful right to report the damage and theft.

The defendant had discovered that an unknown individual had damaged the door of the villa, causing damages estimated at Dh3,000, as well as stolen clothes belonging to the family’s children.

While the initial court ruling found the defendant’s claims credible, the appeals court later acquitted the plaintiff, clarifying that the defendant lacked the intent to cause the alleged damage, but this did not deny the occurrence of the damage itself.