Dubai: Three jobless men have been jailed for one year each for carjacking and kidnapping two workers and stealing their cash and valuables.

The Pakistani trio, 27-year-old A.J., 31-year-old K.M. and 26-year-old A.S., attacked the Indian workers in a parking lot and carjacked their vehicle and stole from them a chequebook, a camera, a gold chain and Dh1,600 in July 2013.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the trio of kidnapping, carjacking, assault and theft under threat and use of physical violence.

A.J., K.M. and A.S. pleaded not guilty in court.

“We did not steal the car or kidnap those men,” A.S. contended.

According to Monday’s ruling, presiding judge Urfan Omar said the defendants will be deported after serving their punishments.

The trio attacked the workers while they were trying to park their vehicle, according to records, before they surprised the victims and locked them up in the car which they then drove from Al Safa area to Al Wasl residential area.

Then they assaulted the Indians, stole their cash and belongings and drove away in their car, threatening to kill them if they called the police.

One of the workers, A.R., said the incident happened while he was parking the car while his friend went to the parking meter to buy a ticket at 10.30pm.

“My friend, J.J., went to get a parking ticket … suddenly one of the defendants opened my door and beat me on my head. He ordered me to step out of the car and then pushed me into the back seat. In the meantime, J.J. had arrived when another suspect also pushed him into the seat beside me. One of them [A.J.] drove my car away for around 1km. K.M. followed us on a motorcycle without any number plate. They stopped in a residential area and kicked us out of the vehicle and drove away after taking our money and some valuables,” A.R. testified to prosecutors.

J.J. confirmed his friend’s statement and further claimed the suspects threatened to kill them if they told the police what had happened.

A policeman testified that the trio were identified as they were involved in similar cases.

“We identified the defendants, who were in custody for crime cases using the same modus operandi. The suspects were brought in from detention for questioning, during which they confessed that they had carjacked A.R.’s vehicle worth Dh8,000,” he claimed.

Monday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.