Dubai: Four men have been accused of getting drunk and assaulting a worker with a stick before robbing him of his smartphone.

The four Pakistani men, aged between 22 and 28, were said to have accosted the worker in the street in January and physically assaulted him before they took his Samsung Note3 phone and left the scene.

The quartet were identified as J.A., a farmer, M.M., a carpenter, M.N., a technician, and M.H., a salesman.

Prosecutors accused the four men of assault, theft and drinking.

The quartet entered a guilty plea when they showed up at the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.

According to the charges sheet, prosecutors said the suspects used a weapon (stick) during the robbery that happened in a public place at night.

“We were too drunk when the incident took place,” J.A. told presiding judge Ali Abdul Wahhab in courtroom three.

Dubai Police’s forensic medicine report confirmed that the worker sustained a head injury but had not incurred a permanent disability.

A police lieutenant told prosecutors that M.N. had been apprehended previously in connection with the theft of an iPhone in a separate case.

“During questioning, M.N. admitted that he and other culprits [the three other suspects] committed several robberies. We detained J.A. in Al Ghubaiba area and upon searching him, we found the worker’s stolen Samsung Note3 phone with him. Later we detained M.M. behind a hotel in Al Rifaa area. The fourth suspect, M.H., was apprehended in Al Rifaa in February. The quartet were brought to the police station of jurisdiction; during questioning they admitted that they ganged up against the worker and stole his phone. They also admitted that M.N. was the one who beat the worker with a stick on his head,” testified the lieutenant.

Court records confirmed that the same suspects are facing a ruling in a similar case before another bench of judges next month.

The four defendants were also fined Dh3,000 for consuming alcohol.

Presiding judge Abdul Wahhab said the court will appoint a lawyer to defend the suspects when it reconvenes on July 21.