Picture used fro illustrative purp[ose only.

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

An African security guard, in collaboration with three colleagues stole Dhs2 million under duress from a company accountant and her assistant after assaulting them with an electric detonator and threatening to kill them.

The accountant, however, sought help from the employees who managed to recover Dhs1.7 million.

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced the guard and another to five years and the other two to three years in jail to be followed by deportation and fined them Dhs264,000.

The case dates back to December last year when an accountant working in a trading company based in Jebel Ali filed a complaint in which she stated that she had been robbed under duress and assaulted inside her office.

The accountant stated that she was taken by surprise by the first defendant, who was working as a private security guard for the company manager, assaulting her with an electric shock device that he used for his work and threatening her and her assistant before he stole a bag containing Dhs2 million.

The bag contained the salaries of employees and the private car was in her office because she asked him to come to collect his salary, the victim said, adding that he stole the bag and threatened to kill her if she called her co-workers for help.

The second victim stated that the first defendant took advantage of his physical structure and struck her and her colleague with an electric shock device in various parts of their bodies.

He also used his hand as an indication that he would slaughter her if she obstructed his way out of the office before he fled the place carrying the bag of money, she added.

Immediately after the suspect went out of the office, she called the reception and the other security guards tried to recover the bag from the suspect who was assisted by three security guards, she said.

The employees managed to obstruct the escape of the suspect and his accomplices, which caused the bag to be opened and the bundles of money to scatter around, but the defendants were able to recover Dhs300,000 and flee from the place, she added.

According to the official documents, a team of detectives managed to gather inferences and hence locate the suspects.

The first suspect and another were arrested at the airport with Dhs240,000 in their possession, while the two other guards were arrested inside the company for their involvement in the crime.  

On interrogation, one of the defendants admitted that the first defendant asked him to help him steal the money and look for two others to assist them in their way out, adding that the second defendant stood in front of the accountant’s door to prevent anybody from entering during the operation.