Dubai: Employee sets fire to workshop, causes damage worth Dh12.5 million

The man was sentenced to a year in prison and was fined the amount of damage he caused

A 32-year-old Asian worker set fire to the workshop he works in after the owner delayed issuing a work visa.

The fire spread quickly and gutted nine vehicles in the workshop. It also destroyed tools and equipment in the workshop, causing a total loss of Dh300,000.

The fire then spread to a nearby factory, causing damages worth Dh12.2 million.

The man was sentenced to a year in prison and was fined the amount of damage he caused.

Last August, an Asian owner of a workshop submitted a report stating that his workplace had been set on fire by an employee.

According to his statement, the arsonist had threatened him saying that he would set the place ablaze if his residency and work permit procedure was not completed.

He added that the employee was carrying a knife and threatened to stab him, and left the room. He also warned the victim against leaving the office.

The owner continued, the accused entered his office again, minutes later, saying that he had sprayed four litres of thinner all over the vehicles in the shop and set a fire. He then fled the place.

The employee was arrested and he then confessed to the crime. He said that he set fire to the place as retaliation against the owner for delaying his work permit and residency visa.