5 years in jail for vengeful ex-staffer

The Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the verdict of Criminal Court of First Instance of imprisonment for two Iranians who had confined a businessman in a hotel room and ordered him to pay them Dh613,000 as he could not complete the visa formalities of one of them.

The verdict of a five-year jail term was awarded to MAZ, 22, jobless, and two years in jail to HAK, 20, student, followed by deportation of both convicts as they were found guilty of five charges, namely, confining OYK and robbing Dh613,000 from him, threatening  to kill the victim and posting his naked pictures and humiliating and assaulting him.

According to the records, the victim OSO, 48, owner of an ‘abaya’ shop in Abu Dhabi, told investigators that one day one of the workers in the shop told him that another worker is needed to help him in his work.

“He suggested offering the job to MAZ who was looking for a job. I accepted and started with the sponsorship transfer formalities and issuance of temporary work permit at the time when he joined work.

“I could not proceed with the formalities for reasons beyond my control and which was related to government reservations.

“I informed him that I cannot finish his visa formalities and asked to stop working and paid him Dh15,000 as compensation for the period I promised to give him the job.

 “Three days before the incident, he called and told me that he had found a job in Malaysia and that he will leave the country for good and had called me to give me this information. I told him that I will be in Dubai in a couple of days and that I will let him know once I am there.

“On April 28, I called and told him that I am in a hotel in Dubai and that he can come to me and I agreed to receive him in the lobby of the hotel. When I arrived in the hotel a little later, I saw him waiting for me in the reception. I booked a room and went to have lunch with him, but since restaurants in the hotel did not serve food between 4pm and 7pm, we sat in a coffee shop for about 15 minutes before I suggested lunch in the room.

“We went up to the room, sat in the hall and I ordered food from the hotel’s service. I was told that the food will be ready within 20 minutes. When I was in the bathroom, I heard the room’s door open, so I thought that the food had been brought.

“All of a sudden, my guest and another man opened the bathroom’s door. They were holding swords and attacked me hurting my finger.

“Then they threatened to kill me if I screamed for help and did not obey them. They asked me to take off all my clothes which I did under threat.

“They took my pictures and threatened to post them on social networks.

“One of them left for an ATM with my card and withdrew Dh5,000 and came to know that the balance was about Dh700,000. They asked me to issue them a cheque with the amount but when I told them that I have financial commitments, they said Dh600,000 will be enough.

“I signed a cheque with the amount. They gagged my mouth with a scotch tape and guarded me in rotation during the night.

“HAK went to the bank at 8am to collect the cheque. I got a call from the bank enquiring about the cheque and seeking my approval.

“MAZ, who was guarding me in the bathroom, threatened to kill me and asked me to give my approval of the cheque to the bank’s employee.

“At around 10am, MAZ took me out of the bathroom and put me on the bed, he removed the scotch tape and forced me to drink water in which he had melted some tablets. I drank the water but the tablets were not fully melted.

“I did not swallow the tablets but kept them inside my mouth. He gagged my mouth again after stuffing it with tissue paper, ensured that the ropes around my hands and legs are tight and then left the room,” he testified.

The victim succeeded in cutting the rope using a knife they had left behind. He searched for the room’s telephone to report the crime to the police, but did not find it.

He went down to the reception from where he reported the crime to the police.

Police formed a team to identify the two accused and arrest them. It was found out that they had already left the country for Kuwait, testified First Lieutenant Ali Saeed.

In coordination with the Kuwaiti authorities ,they were arrested and brought back to Dubai.

Police ordered the cancellation of the transfer of Dh495,000 the accused made via a money exchange company and confiscated four other money deposit orders.

Criminal evidenced reported that the DNA test of MAZ matched traces of blood found next to the bed in the hotel room and on the scotch tape.

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