Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Sohaila Ahmed, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court adjourned the trial of an Asian suspect, and his 2 runaway accomplices, until a defence attorney was appointed for the detained suspect, after facing three charges of assault and robbery.

Official records indicate that the three suspects had attacked the victim with the intention of robbing him.

 The victim was brutally assaulted and taken to an abandoned area to steal his wallet, which had Dhs900 inside.

After the incident, one of the suspects was arrested, while the two accomplices ran away.

During the session, the suspect denied assaulting or robbing the victim.

The suspect stated that one of his runaway accomplices was the one who drove the vehicle that they used during the crime to flee the scene. Moreover, he denied driving the vehicle without a licence.

The suspect only confessed to overstaying in the UAE, and working without a permit.

Earlier, the Sharjah Criminal Court sentenced an African gang of 5 members to 15 years’ imprisonment, and a fine of Dhs250,000, after they carried out an armed robbery on an exchange shop in Al Taawun Area, and stole Dhs2.3 million.

The incident dates back to March, 2019, when an exchange shop was attacked by four gang members around 11.50pm, who used hammers to smash the front window of the shop. A fifth member of the gang was waiting inside a vehicle, prepared to flee the scene after the big robbery.

After breaking into the shop, the gang attacked the staff with weapons, and forced the branch manager to open the money vault, then asked all staff to step aside and stand still. However, the manager followed their orders without hesitation, out of sheer concern for the safety of his staff.

The gang then stole an estimated amount of Dhs2.3 million of four different currencies, and immediately fled the scene.