Dubai: A man has gone on trial, in the Dubai Court of First Instance, for robbing a customer who had been lured into a fake massage centre.
According to official records, the 29-year-old customer was walking in Dubai’s International City area, in May 2019, looking for a massage centre, when he saw a massage card on a car window.
He called the number on the card and a woman who answered the call guided him to the fake massage centre in a residential building.
When the men went to the apartment, the woman opened the door.
Another man, a 41-year-old Pakistani, was sitting on a sofa.
“I paid the girl the massage fees and the man left. When my massage was done, the door opened and the Pakistani man with other two men came in, knocked me to the ground and physically assaulted me,” the customer said in records.
He said they stole his phone and Dh1,400 in cash from his wallet, and he was left bleeding from the nose.
The defendant also threatened to hand him over to the police.
“He told me that having a massage is illegal and that I will be punished,” the victim added.
Soon after, two men and the woman left the apartment and locked the door and leaving the victim and the defendant behind.
Records didn’t explain why they locked them both inside.
According to Dubai Public Prosecution, the victim and the defendant started yelling for help.
Security guards arrived and arrested them before calling Dubai Police.
The defendant confessed to committing the robbery with the two men and woman, who are at large.
The verdict in the case will be issued on August 29, while the defendant will remain under police custody.
