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A salesperson has been caught on camera allegedly stealing the money that was kept outside a flat’s door in Abu Dhabi.
The shocking incident took place at a residential building in the heart of the city on Saturday night. The salesman had entered the building to paste promotional stickers of a telecom brand. When he saw a paper wrapped with money kept under an empty water can, he made away with it.
The family members residing in the flat are taken aback by the turn of events.
“I have always kept money wrapped in a piece of paper below the empty water can. Since the staff of the drinking water firm delivers new cans on Sunday morning, I keep the money outside the flat on Saturday night itself. The staff will come and replace the cans with fresh ones without needing to call us in the morning hours of a holiday. But what happened was unexpected. It’s not about the money, but the fact that such an act was committed is shocking,” M.A., the resident who works at a private firm, said.
Sharing the CCTV video footage with Khaleej Times, M.A. said the salesperson took a Dh5 note and left coins wrapped inside the paper.
“The person pastes a promotional sticker on the door of the opposite flat, he then turns to our flat. He takes a close look at the wrapped paper. He then pastes the sticker on our door, and then very carefully lifts the can, unwraps the paper, slips the Dh5 note between his lips, and keeps the coins back before leaving.”
M.A. and his family came to know about the incident the next day morning when the staff of the water delivery firm rang the bell asking for the full amount.
“The staff said there were only a few coins wrapped in the piece of paper. I and my wife refuted but we still paid the full amount. With CCTV outside my door, I was sure about catching the culprit. However, on checking the footage we were stunned. I told the staff about the act. He felt relieved. Installing a CCTV has been a boon, otherwise, I would have suspected the innocent water can delivery staff. I hope this video will be a lesson for such culprits,” M.A. added.
“I informed about the incident to the natoor (watchman). I also rang up the number on the sticker, but the concerned person stood by his salesperson and said no one from his team would commit such an act. He said that he would come and clarify things but never turned up.”
Meanwhile, Jaffar, the deliveryman of the water can company, noted that such complaints are on the rise in popular residential areas.
“It’s common for customers to leave money or coupons under the water cans. However, a similar scenario has cropped at several places. At times the customers pay up, but we know they suspect that we have taken the money. And there is no way to prove our innocence. At times, we end up paying money from our own pocket to avoid an argument with our customers. I can’t blame them as they would naturally suspect us. Thankfully M.A. had installed a CCTV, so I was saved from another embarrassing moment,” Jaffar added.
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