Five men accused of threatening to behead man in Dubai

Dubai: Five men have been accused of kidnapping their fellow countryman and threatening to behead him if his parents did not pay a Dh20,000 ransom. The five Bangladeshis, aged between 25 and 53, were said to have stopped the victim, M.S., in Abu Hail and asked him for directions before pulling him into their car and driving off.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of kidnapping M.S., confining him in a room in Al Quoz and threatening to chop his head off if his parents did not pay them the money. The suspects were also charged with assaulting M.S., 30. One of the defendants was also charged with stealing Dh1,800 from M.S.

Prosecution records said the defendants were arrested in a sting operation on December 26 after the victim had been kept in the room for two days.

The suspects claimed during questioning that they kidnapped M.S. due to previous financial problems.

The suspects, who are on bail, failed to appear before the Dubai Court of First Instance where they were scheduled to appear on Monday.

The victim testified that the defendants abducted him on December 25 around 3pm.

Victim’s account

“They claimed to be asking about directions, before they pushed me into their car. They beat me and forced me to remain silent in the back seat. The suspects drove for around 40 minutes and they locked me up in a ground floor bedroom in a labour accommodation. They beat me again and broke one tooth. Then they confiscated my three mobile phones… they called my parents and threatened to behead me if they refused to pay Dh20,000 in ransom.

“When my parents and family couldn’t find that much money, they asked me to call any person in the UAE to get them that amount of money. They kept me confined for two consecutive days … and I told them to call my friend. The defendants phoned my friend and asked him to bring any amount of money,” said the victim.

An Emirati policeman testified that M.S.’ friend cooperated with the police to arrest the suspects in a sting operation.

Presiding Judge Ali Attiyah Sa’ad adjourned the case until the suspects are legally notified about the next hearing on June 6.