Dubai: Prosecutors lost their appeal against a consul-general, who was cleared of kidnapping a businessman and stealing signed cheques worth Dh2 million from him.

In April, the Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the Chinese man, who is the delegated consul-general of an African country, and his countryman salesman of kidnapping the Chinese businessman and stealing Dh2 million from him in cheques.

Prosecutors appealed the primary judgement and asked the Appeal Court to overturn the suspects’ acquittal and imprison them.

The Chinese duo pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the appellate court.

Citing lack of corroborated evidence, presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm rejected prosecutors’ appeal and upheld the acquittal of the two Chinese men.

Lawyer Ali Khalaf Al Hosani who defended the consul-general before the Appeal Court argued that law enforcement procedures were carried out improperly and wrongly against his client, who was questioned in the absence of a translator.

“My client refuted the businessman’s claims that he had kidnapped him since the case first surfaced at the police station. His name was not listed in the prosecutors’ search and arrest warrant. Besides, he was arrested before the warrant was issued. The claimant did not hear or see my client at the time when he claimed he was kidnapped,” argued Al Hosani.

The businessman lodged his case out of malice, according to lawyer Al Hosani, who said prosecutors submitted pieces of evidence that were insufficient to indict his client.

A third suspect, who remains at large, was involved in the case, said records.

The businessman alleged that he was kidnapped from a parking lot of International City’s China Cluster.

“I had gone to deliver some goods to a client when someone pulled me out of my car, blindfolded me and forced me into another car. They drove me around for 30 minutes and then stopped and moved me into a room. They assaulted me and used a taser gun on me. They also pointed a knife to my face and forced me to sign four cheques for around Dh2 million,” the businessman claimed.

The lawyer refuted the businessman’s claims and argued that the claimant gave an inconsistent statement.

“Law enforcement officers did not carry out serious investigations. My client’s confession is void since he was questioned in the absence of a Chinese translator. Since the beginning of this case, my client introduced himself to the law enforcement officers as a consul-general ... despite the fact that he has diplomatic immunity, the officers apprehended him and did not communicate with the pertinent ministry and notify them that a diplomat had been arrested,” defended Al Hosani.

A police lieutenant testified that the victim’s wife informed them over the phone that her husband had been kidnapped and was forced to sign cheques by the alleged kidnappers.

Al Hosani further said: “When the claimant testified in court, the suspects were asked to pronounce their names loudly so that the claimant could identify their voices … and he did not recognise them.”

The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 26 days.