Dubai: Six men from Bangladesh have been jailed for one year each, after they were convicted of kidnapping and detaining a supervisor and demanding a Dh50,000 in ransom.
The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the defendants, aged between 23 and 39, for kidnapping their compatriot supervisor, S.A., and threatening to kill him if he failed to pay the ransom.
The six accused, who pleaded not guilty, will be deported after serving time.
One of them, 39-year-old M.A., denied the charge. "I did not kidnap or lock him up. However, I did fight with him and we exchanged assault," he said.
According to the charges, the convicts detained S.A. against his will in a villa in Satwa. They pushed him into M.A.'s car, drove off to the villa where they locked him up for five hours and demanded a ransom which was later reduced to Dh5,000.
The 29-year-old supervisor testified that the incident happened after M.A. came to his house and asked him to join him for a ride in his car.
He said they forced him into the vehicle and then drove for a while before parking at his house. They locked him up in a room, beat him and demanded a ransom of Dh50,000 to release him.
The claimant's brother 37-year-old B.A. testified that when his brother called him asking for ransom, he was told him that he could afford only Dh5,000.
Two policemen told how during the operation they arrested three men who guided them to the villa in Satwa and released the victim.
The primary judgment is still subject to appeal within 12 days.
