Dubai: A driver has been accused of luring a worker to his car by offering him a lift for Dh10 before he assaulted him and stole his Dh3,000.

The 29-year-old Ethiopian driver, I.A., and his countryman, who remains at large, were said to have offered to drive the Pakistani worker to Deira for Dh10, before they beat him and stole his cash.

Prosecutors accused I.A. of kidnap with deception and theft.

The suspect entered a not guilty plea and firmly refuted his accusations before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday.

“I did not kidnap the man or steal his money,” I.A. told presiding judge Mohammad Jamal.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the defendant and the absconding man deceived the Pakistani worker when they offered to take him to Deira. Once he stepped into the vehicle, they beat him and stole his money before they threw him out of the car.

Records said the incident happened in February 2013 but there was no mention why the case was referred to court on Tuesday.

The worker claimed to prosecutors that the incident happened in Al Aweer while he was waiting for a bus.

“A white car stopped in front of me and the absconding suspect was driving while the defendant [I.A.] was in the back seat. The driver offered to drive me to Deira for Dh10. I jumped into the front passenger seat … a few minutes later he stopped near Dubai Central Jail. The defendant in the back seat beat me. Then he stepped out of the car and grabbed my hand. He snatched my wallet that contained Dh3,000. The defendant threw my wallet on the ground while the two suspects pushed me out of the car. I fell on the ground while they fled,” he testified to prosecutors.

A policeman testified to prosecutors that primary interrogations revealed that I.A. [who had a criminal record] had been involved in the case.

“We summoned the victim to identify a number of suspects through their photos in the police’s legal system. The worker identified I.A., who had been involved in a crime of a similar nature. The latter was arrested shortly after that,” said the policeman.

The trial continues.