Dubai: Two men have each been jailed for six months for organising a gambling game in public, using an ironing board, playing cards and a torch.
The Bangladeshi defendants, 35-year-old K.M. and 25-year-old A.K., were found guilty of luring pedestrians to gamble, according to the Dubai Court of First Instance’s ruling on Thursday.
Presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat said the duo will be deported following the completion of their jail terms.
A.K. was said to have convinced gamblers to pay money to play, meanwhile K.M. would spread three playing cards (two black and one red) on the ironing board. Court records said the gamblers were supposed to pick the correct position of the red card to double their bets.
“The court has decided to confiscate the tools [playing cards, torch and the ironing board] used in the illegal game,” said presiding judge Abdul Lat.
Prosecutors charged the duo and a third suspect, who remains at large, with organising a gambling game in public in September.
K.M. entered a guilty plea when he appeared before the court.
A.K. denied the charges, saying: “I did not gamble or organise any gambling game.”
A policeman testified that an informant tipped off Dubai Police’s operation room that a number of Bangladeshis had been organising gambling games in Fraij Al Marar.
“A police patrol was dispatched immediately to the location. A.K. and K.M. were spotted organising a gambling game on the ironing table. We seized Dh200 with A.K., who admitted that K.M. had organised the game. The duo confessed that they stopped pedestrians and asked them to gamble and win money,” said the policeman.
Thursday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
