Dubai: Three Bangladeshi men rejected the charge of kidnapping their compatriot and threatening to kill him if he did not pay Dh6,000 ransom, the court heard yesterday.
"I am innocent… we did not kidnap him. We don't even know him and have never seen him before," argued one of the suspects, 26-year-old MT, when he defended himself before the Dubai Court of First Instance.
Prosecutors charged MT and his associates, 27-year-old KS and 30-year-old DM, with kidnapping their compatriot, MK and threatening to kill him.
MT, KS and DM also denied their charges when they pleaded not guilty before Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad.
According to the charges sheet, the three defendants lured MK to a deserted area where they assaulted him before forcibly taking and detaining him in a room in Satwa.
Prosecution records said the next day, the suspects moved MK to a flat in Al Qusais where he was kept for three days.
The trio was charged with threatening to kill the claimant if he did not pay Dh6,000 ransom for his release.
An Emirati first lieutenant testified that Dubai police arranged with MK's relative to release him and arrested the suspects in a sting operation.
A Pakistani first policeman told prosecutors: "We were informed that a group of Bangladeshis were kidnapping their compatriots and releasing them against ransoms."
The judgment will be heard on February 15.
