Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced an African man and woman to three years in jail to be followed by deportation and fined them Dhs28,000 on assault and theft charges.

The case dates back to July last year when an Asian filed a complaint in which he stated that he had been assaulted and robbed by an African gang.

According to his statement, he saw an ad for a massage centre in which European girls were working, so he called the given number via WhatsApp and asked for the location of the center and the price of the massage session.

The victim asked the centre to send him a photo of the girl who would massage him, he said, adding that the centre sent him a photo of a blonde girl and told him that the price of a massage session was Dhs3,000, so he agreed to the price and received the location map.

He arrived on time and went up to the centre, where he saw African women inside an apartment, which was apparently a fake centre, he said.

The woman who received him told him that the girl who would massage him was inside the room, he added, noting that as soon as he entered the room, the woman closed the door tightly.

There, he was surprised by four African women assaulting him and stripping him of his clothes, he said.

One of them photographed him naked, while the others searched him and when they did not find money, they asked him about his ATM card, he added.

As he told them that he had left the card in his car, one of them went to the car and brought it, he said.

They later, asked for the pin code and he had to give it to them after being assaulted and tortured.

The victim stated that he was locked up there for several hours until an African man and the women came and gave him his wallet and mobile phone before they allowed him to put on his clothes and leave.

The man threatened him to publish an indecent video that he filmed for him on social media and send it to his family and acquaintances.

The victim discovered that Dhs28,000 had been withdrawn through his ATM card, so he reported the incident to the police.

A policeman stated in the interrogations that a team of detectives gathered inferences that helped them arrest the defendant and other women at the scene.

The victim identified the defendant and his female partner. The court, however, acquitted two women who happened to be in the massage centre.