Filipina Jailed for Dh1.25m Embezzlement at Dubai Hotel
DUBAI: The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance jailed a Filipina healthcare coordinator at a hotel for six months to be followed by deportation after she was found guilty of stealing Dh1.25m that was handed to her as petty cash funds over eight years.
According to reports, the 55-year-old accused was first appointed as a nurse and in November 2007, promoted to the position of a healthcare coordinator later, and was in charge of carrying out medical checks and healthcare issuance and renewals. To help ease her task, her employer used to hand her Dh10,000 as weekly petty fund.
The hotel accountant suspected two transactions forwarded by DM in March for two employees who had already resigned in November. After thorough scrutiny of the transactions processed by DM, it was found out that the Filipina had forged a total of 9,195, medical fees payment receipts.
“The department suspected two transactions that the accused submitted for two employees who had resigned in November, 2014. She also submitted a health card renewal for those ex-staff,” AY, 59, Egyptian accountant told investigators.
“Checking transactions that she had forwarded to the department, it was found out that she submitted a number of payment receipts that were issued by Dubai Municipality clinic for the same employee and for the same type of transaction,” he said.
The hotel management ordered an administrative investigation, and the accused confessed to increasing the amount from Dh110 to Dh210. She also admitted to changing pictures of employees so that she could use one receipt more than once.
Auditing all transactions that she had processed since November 2007, until March 12, it was found that she stole a total of Dh1,258,620 by forging 9,195 receipts for medical check and health card renewals.
The accountant told investors that the accused was handed over Dh10,000 per week to pay for medical check and health card issuance and renewal fees.
The accused admitted to embezzling an estimated amount of Dh500,000. She also admitted that she forged receipts to cover up for stealing the amounts that were in her custody.