ABU DHABI, Apr 4 (The National) : An Etisalat employee denied using a company SIM card to make as much as Dh2.2 million worth of personal calls.

TK, a 24-year-old Jordanian, was accused of allowing family members to use the card to make calls over four months. He pleaded not guilty this morning before Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance and Etisalat reduced the value of the calls to about Dh6,000.

His lawyer told the court that the company gave three different estimates of the calls' value before reducing the amount.

The man, a part-time employee, has been in prison since February 7. His lawyer said the different estimates indicated the company did not investigate properly.

The company said it reduced the amount after TK's father pleaded for mercy. But the father said he only asked the company to find the truth.

The lawyer said TK could not possibly have made Dh2.2m worth of calls in four months. He said a customer had a faulty iPhone SIM and TK provided him with the company SIM to check whether the customer's card was at fault, leading the company to conclude he had used the card in different phones.

The judges will issue a verdict on April 12.