Pinay in swindling case in UAE gets P89-M penalty

An appeals court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lowered to three months the jail term of a Filipina for embezzling public funds but has upheld the whopping Dh7.7-million (P89.329-million) penalty against her. According to a report of Khaleej Times on Friday, the Dubai Court of Appeals also upheld the deportation order against the 31-year-old Filipina, a former customer service officer of the company "Nakheel." The report said the verdict can be appealed at the Cassation Court within 30 days. Prosecution records showed that the Filipina embezzled Dh7.746 million in funds that were entrusted to her by Nakheel from 2008 to early 2010, the report said. The report quoted a female Emirati human resources manager as saying, “All transactions carried out by the defendant were audited. It was found that she had embezzled money belonging to the company "Nakheel." When confronted by her superiors in 2009 about the missing funds, the defendant reportedly admitted to the crime, signed a written acknowledgment and promised to pay back Nakheel, the report said. The Filipina has been held in provisional detention and attending her trial proceedings holding her newborn baby, the report added. - VVP, GMA News