Men who detained partner in UAE convicted

Dubai: The Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday sentenced two Hungarian men to a suspended one-year imprisonment after they were found guilty of assaulting their business partner and forcing him to sign two cheques for Dh406,000.

Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir Fahmi handed down the verdict on Sunday. The judge's verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.

The complainant, A.B., who is also Hungarian, however dropped the charges against his business partners, saying he has forgiven them in the spirit of Ramadan.

"I forgive them because it is Ramadan. I don't want their families to be spoiled because until now they have troubles with their families due to this problem," said A.B. when he waived his complaint in court earlier this month.

The defendants 47-year-old L.S. and 49-year-old Z.P. had pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said the defendants detained the victim in a room where he was forced to sign two cheques worth Dh86,000 and Dh320,000.

"When I said I will not sign, they forced me to do so. I want to forgive them now. I have not retained my cheques because they were confiscated," the victim said.

"L.S. and Z.P. came to the flat. They asked me to sign a rent cheque issued from the company which we all run. When I refused, L.S. beat me up. I fell on the floor. I could not stand up because of my sickness. They refused to help me stand up and locked me in the room until I signed the cheque."

Call police

While in detention, A.B. managed to throw "call the police" notes from the room's window.

A British neighbour found one of the notes and immediately sought help from the police.

Responding policemen immediately freed the victim.