Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A labourer masterminded a robbery at his workplace to avenge a salary reduction, a court heard on Tuesday.

The Arab defendant, 29, sought the help of a compatriot colleague, 22, in robbing scaffoldings worth Dhs37, 104 from a site under construction in Bur Dubai on Aug.11. The items belonged to a contracting company.

At around 7pm they distracted the site’s security guard by sending him to buy items from a grocery. He returned before they could finish and tried to stop them. The colleague injuriously punched his head.

The Ethiopian guard, 30, said, “It was Eid holiday. There was no work at the site. The colleague asked me to escort him to the grocery. On the way, he kept making calls asking someone whether they found a vehicle.

“I returned to the site and spotted a Pickup vehicle driving out. It was loaded with building items belonging to our employer. It was driven by a stranger. I waved telling him to stop but he refused and drove away.”

Meanwhile, he spotted the defendant running out of the site. “I chased and seized him. The colleague punched me twice on the head while telling me to let him go. I seized the defendant until police arrived.”

The colleague fled the scene. The site’s Egyptian supervisor said the victim told him that the defendant and his colleague battered him for trying to foil the robbery.

The supervisor explained, “I questioned the defendant. He told me that he agreed with the colleague to take the guard far from the site by claiming that the colleague wanted to purchase items from the grocery.

“As per the scheme, the defendant remained at the site with a man who worked at a scrap company. They stole the scaffoldings. The defendant said he robbed to avenge the company’s decision to lower his salary.”

Before the police, the colleague confessed to his role in leading the guard away from the site to facilitate the robbery. Hearing continues.

Recently, a salesman lost Dhs1.8 million to muggers during a meeting to purchase phone recharge cards at ‘a very low’ price, a court head on Wednesday.

An Arab visitor, 28, landed at the Dubai Criminal Court on suspicion he with the help of fugitive accomplices stole Dhs1.8m from an Indian salesman, 25, on Aug.13. They posed as CID officers and rained blows on him.

He had carried the money in a bag. They grabbed the bag from him and the defendant hurled it over the balcony. His accomplices picked it from the street and ran away. Prosecutors demanded the toughest penalty.