Dubai: A worker has landed in prison and will have to pay a hefty fine after he overturned a minibus which he drove under the influence of alcohol. He was driving without its owner's consent.

The Traffic Court of First Instance sentenced the 28-year-old Indian worker to a month in jail and fined him Dh20,000 for reckless and drunken driving in the Al Qusais area.

Presiding Judge Dr Ahmad Hassan Al Mutawa'a also fined the accused, S.M., Dh2,500 for driving the minibus without its owner's consent and knowledge, and for damaging the vehicle which he drove without a licence.

Salah Bu Farousha, Head of Dubai Traffic Public Prosecution, said: "The lab results showed that he had consumed liquor. He drove the minibus without the permission of its owners and did not have a proper licence. We constantly track down and prosecute such errant drivers and we always seek the implementation of the toughest punishments applicable in order to clear the emirate's roads of such drivers."

According to a traffic police report, the accident happened last month when the accused jumped behind the steering wheel when he was drunk. He lost control of the vehicle and it overturned. Police arrested him because he smelt of liquor. He was referred to the Traffic Public Prosecution.