Duo framed in street robbery case walk free
- 26 Oct 2019
Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter
Two men suspected to have taken part in battering and robbing a labourer at a Dubai street have won a second acquittal at the Dubai Appeals Court.
The Bangladeshi herdsman, 54, and his colleague, 42, first appeared at the Criminal Court on May 26 over allegations that they with the help of fugitive accomplices waylaid the Asian labourer, 38, on Mar.15.
They struck him with a liquor bottle, kicked and punched him and decamped with his wallet containing his bank card, Emirates ID, health insurance card, Dhs1, 680 cash and a Samsung mobile worth Dhs800.
They refuted the allegations during court hearings and argued that the case was malicious.
They revealed to the jury that the labourer concocted the case following a misunderstanding. The court cleared them.
Prosecutors appealed while saying the herdsman snatched the phone while his colleague and others assaulted and robbed other items.
They sought a tough penalty. But, the Appeals Court upheld the ruling.
On the record, the labourer claimed he was returning to a labourers’ accommodation in Al Muhaisna when he found six men including the duo.
They stopped him and asked him to hand over cash. He refused.
The herdsman grabbed his mobile and the others beat him and snatched his wallet. They were inebriated and smelling alcohol. “The herdsman had a liquor bottle,” he said adding that he ran to escape from them.
One hurled a big liquor bottle between his legs inflicting an injury on the left leg. He fell. They fled the scene. A passerby called the police. An ambulance took him to hospital. He mentioned the attackers’ names.
He further claimed he sustained a fracture in the left leg besides contusions on both legs. And that they were “six robbers.”
On being asked to explain the role of each suspect, he mentioned “a seventh robber.”
Moreover, a Bahraini warrant officer said, “The labourer said he was standing at a street when ‘five men’ mugged him. He gave their names. The arrested duo said he cooked up the case after a heated argument.”