Dubai: Two brothers and their workmate have been jailed for six months each for confining a sales executive in their office, assaulting him and taking Dh200,000 from him under duress.

The two Jordanian brothers and their countryman workmate had a deal to construct and design two villas in Jumeirah with the Iraqi executive in December.

The three men had been dodging the Iraqi over a Dh300,000 unpaid commission that he had been demanding before the incident happened.

The sales executive took a number of cheques from the Jordanians which bounced.

Then the Jordanians invited the Iraqi to their site office where they locked him up for some time and got Dh200,000 from him in cash and cheque.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Jordanian trio of confining the victim and extracting Dh200,000 from him under duress and assault.

The three accused pleaded not guilty in court.

According to the primary judgement, the presiding judge also referred the Iraqi victim’s civil lawsuit to the Dubai Civil Court.

The defendants will be deported after serving their punishments.

The Iraqi testified that the incident happened shortly after he complained to the police about the cheques which bounced.

“We had a contract between us for designing two villas and they owed me Dh300,000 in commission for this job. When I asked them to pay the commission, the two brothers gave me two cheques of Dh100,000 each and one of Dh50,000 … they asked me to waive the remaining balance of Dh50,000. The cheque was encashed but two other cheques bounced on which I complained to the police. Then their workmate called me to meet them at the brothers’ office to discuss the issue. When I entered, they locked the door from inside. Then they showed me Dh150,000 in cash and a Dh50,000 cheque. They asked me to return their two cheques of Dh100,000 each. I took the cash and the Dh50,000 cheque and returned them their cheques which were given to me earlier. As I was about to leave the office, they stopped me, beat me and wrapped a rope around my neck and forced me to give them back the Dh50,000 cheque and Dh150,000,” the victim said.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 13 days.