Man locked up in Dubai apartment over financial dispute

Dubai: Dubai Court of First Instance has sentenced a group of men to three years in prison for locking up a man in a house over a financial dispute.

According to records, the victim received a call from one of the defendants, telling him about a shipment of iPhones that he wanted him to sell for a commission. The victim sent a truck to transfer the smart phones to his company, but he received a call from the defendant, asking him to make the payment on the same day. The victim refused and they had a dispute over the phone.

The victim then went to the Naif area to meet the defendant and solve the problem, but he was suddenly surrounded by three other men inside the defendant’s office.

“He was angry and asked for the payment. I told him that I didn’t have the money at that point of time. One of the men then asked me to pay Dh100,000 at least,” said the victim on record.

The group also threatened to kill him. The victim then called a friend who agreed to lend him a certain amount. “My driver went and collected the money and brought it [to the office of the defendants], but they still insisted that I pay the remaining amount as well,” added the businessman.

He was then forced to call his brother-in-law, asking him to arrange the remaining payment.

Meanwhile, the victim’s wife knew that her husband had been kidnapped and one of the defendants told her over the phone that they would kill him if he failed to pay them.

“I called my brother and managed to collect another Dh40,000 and some gold bars worth Dh80,000,” said the wife on record.

The defendants then allowed the victim to leave, but he alerted Dubai Police. The four defendants were charged with kidnapping and seizing the victim. The court sentenced them to three years in jail, to be followed by deportation, and fined them Dh320,000.