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29 March 2024

3 months jail for attempt to rob bank customer

Published
By Eman Al Baik

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced an Egyptian cook to three months in jail followed by deportation for attempting to rob Dh116,851 from a bank customer.

But his attempt at robbery was foiled by the victim and some pedestrians, the court heard.

AHI, 33, is accused with three others of attempted theft. He planned and agreed with others, identified as MA, JZ and DA, to rob bank customers after throwing pepper powder in their eyes.

According to the records, the victim AJJ, 33, Egyptian accountant, testified that on February 3, 2010, while he was heading to Mashreq Bank’s branch  behind Al Ghurair Centre at around 11am, to encash his employer’s cheques.

“I entered the bank and took a token, but as I needed a tissue paper, I lost my turn in the queue. I went to the employee at the counter and explained the situation to her. She asked me to go to a counter for cheque authentication since the amount was large. I got the authentication done and approached the employee to disburse Dh116,851. The full amount was in Dh100 notes, so she put it in a large envelope. I left the bank and headed to the company’s office. While walking, three people blocked my way. One of them threw pepper powder on my face and pulled the envelope from my hand. I tried to hold on to the envelope which tore and some bundles of currency notes fell on the street. One of the attackers grabbed a bundle of notes of Dh50,000 and ran away.  Another man seized the balance amount and tried to flee. People gathered and chased the fleeing attacker. They caught the robbers and handed over the money back to me. Police arrived and I lodged a complaint with them,” he testified.

Dubai police coordinated with Sharjah police to arrest the accused who confessed to agreeing with the rest of the accused to rob bank customers and to attempt to rob the complainant.