Four men jailed for kidnapping investor

Dubai: The Dubai Court of First Instance has sentenced four men to three years imprisonment after they were found guilty of kidnapping a Bangladeshi investor.

The defendants, all Bangladeshis, who were also charged with stealing Dh3,000 from the victim, F.S., had entered a not guilty plea.

“The defendants will be deported following the completion of their jail term,” said Presiding Judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi.

Prosecution records said that the victim got a call from A.H., a butcher, who sought a meeting to discuss an important matter.

“The other defendants were present with A.H. when he came to see me. We had tea then A.H. asked me to go with them to the labor accommodation. He asked me to call my family in Australia to wire him money. I refused and tried to call the police, but J.M. (a 29-year-old driver) took my phone and threatened to kill me. They threatened to throw me in a garbage container if I refused to give them money. They kept me confined until the evening before they took me to the roof and threatened to throw me then they took me to another place and kept me seated on a chair all night long. Around 5am they took me back into the flat and I asked them to hand me a phone to arrange for their money,” the victim said in his testimony.

Prosecutors said the defendants forced the victim’s sister, who is in Australia, to transfer Dh17,000 to A.H.’s brother in Bangladesh.

The defendants then forced F.S. to sign a document that claims that he owed A.H. Dh16,000 before he was released.

The court’s judgment remains subject to appeal within 15 days.