Dubai: A gang lured a Dubai-based man to a fake massage parlour before assaulting him and robbing him of Dh50,000. The incident happened in July last year.
According to the Dubai Court of First Instance, the man saw the picture of an attractive woman on Facebook. Upon contacting her, the woman asked the man to come over to her place for a massage. As directed by the woman, the man went to an apartment in the Al Refaa area of Dubai, when he saw four women and two men, all expatriates, inside the apartment.
“They attacked me using their bare hands and shoes before stripping me naked. They searched me thoroughly before snatching away Dh1,000 in cash. Then they threatened to kill me if I didn’t disclose the passcode of my credit card,” said the victim on record. When he refused, they put his head inside a plastic bag and tried to suffocate him. “I thought that I would die,” he added.
He finally let them know the passcode, following which, they kept him locked in a room for two hours and withdrew Dh49,000 from his account. Only then did they allow him to go.
The man then reported the incident to Dubai Police who arrested all six defendants.
“We identified three of the defendants through the surveillance cameras and they were arrested within five days. The victim identified all of them. We caught the rest of the gang members after two days and they admitted to the crime,” said a policeman on record.
The defendants have been sentenced to three years in jail, to be followed by deportation.
The court has also ordered the defendants to pay a fine of Dh50,000.
