Dubai: Three men were given three-year jail terms each for burgling valuables, diamonds and cash worth Dh500,000 from a villa.

The villa’s Emirati owner was in Germany on a medical trip for his son’s treatment when the Sri Lankan trio, P.S., B.D. and N.J., jumped over the wall, used hard tools to break in and rob the place in August.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the trio of trespassing at night and robbing the villa in Al Mizhar.

Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi sentenced B.D. and N.J. in absentia since they are still at large.

P.S. pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court.

The defendants used a screwdriver and crowbar to break the windows and sneak into the empty villa, said records.

They stole four diamond watches, a diamond necklace, a gold set, gold rings, sunglasses, branded pens, men’s watches, a number of gold and diamond sets and Dh15,000 in cash.

According to Wednesday’s ruling, P.S. will be deported after serving his punishment.

The Emirati man said he was in Germany where his son was being treated when the incident happened.

“My maid had been staying at my family’s residence and she had been visiting the villa often to clean. One day she went to clean as usual when she discovered that the villa had been burgled. One thief or more had trespassed into my residence and stolen the valuables from my bedroom. My brother phoned me in Germany and informed me what had happened. The suspects entered the villa through one of the windows that was found to be broken. Then they went up to the master bedroom on the upper floor and broke down the door … they broke the safe open and stole the contents,” he testified to prosecutors.

A policeman said primary interrogations revealed the trio’s involvement in the heist.

“Shortly after the heist, P.S. was apprehended at Sharjah airport while trying to leave the country. During questioning, he admitted that B.D., N.J. and he broke into the villa and stole the valuables. He said B.D. and N.J. had left the country and taken part of the stolen items with them. The Emirati identified some of the stolen valuables that were recovered from P.S.,” testified the policeman.

P.S.’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.

The absconders’ are entitled a retrial.