Dubai, Jan 17 (IANS): A Dubai court has ordered an Indian expat teacher to pay a 10,000 dirham ($2,722) fine after he was found guilty of a defamation charge.

The 31-year-old was convicted of posting an altered picture of another man on his Instagram account, depicting him as a dog, the Khaleej Times said in a report on Thursday.

The court confiscated his smartphone, took down the post and shut down his Instagram account.

According to public prosecution records, the case dates back to April 2019.

On June 4, 2019, the complainant, a 40-year-old Indian manager, learned that the defendant posted a photo of him on his Instagram account by altering it and adding a dog's picture with a caption reading "we have a new breed of dogs for sale".

The manager reported him to the criminal investigation department and the cybercrime department, after which the teacher was apprehended.

The complainant told the investigator that he learned from an Indian woman about the post which the latter claimed was also shared on Twitter and other social media platforms.