Dubai: Three Filipino suspects, two men and a woman, were charged with robbing Dh11,200 from an Indian man with the help of another man who is still on the run, a court was told on Wednesday.
The three suspects, R.D.B., 44, E.A.A., 46, and the woman, S.M.K.B., 27, were all in the UAE on a visit visa.
According to prosecution papers, the incident took place on November 5, 2015.
The victim told prosecutors that he was walking near Al Rifa’a police station when a woman suddenly blocked his path, while two men grabbed each of his arms and the third man grabbed his right leg and shook it.
“I thought there was something on my leg, perhaps an insect, as they kept repeating the word ‘fi fi’. The man holding my foot took off my shoe and threw it on the ground,” he said. They then left and he was distracted while putting his shoe back on. Soon after, he realised that the Dh11,200 he was carrying in his front right pocket was gone.
The victim immediately reported the incident to the police.
A policeman from Al Rifa’a police station working on the case told the prosecution that at the end of 2015 the station had received a number of similar cases involving a group of Asians who rob people in crowded areas.
Police arrested the trio following an investigation and all the three suspects confessed to their crime.
R.D.B. told the prosecution that he was S.M.K.’s husband and was friends with E.A.A.. He said that the fourth suspect — who is at large — is the one who recruited them and taught them how to steal from people.
R.D.B. said that he was driven to do this because of his dire financial situation.
Documents showed that each of the three suspects’ share was Dh200 from the money stolen.
