4 rob Brit woman tourist at sword-point
A British visitor was robbed by four Emiratis under swords threat in her room in a villa in Murdif area, an hour after her arrival in Dubai, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.
On October 7, ER, 58, arrived in Dubai around 12 midnight. She took a taxi to her the house of her American friend RB, 58. She entered the villa with a key she had and locked the door behind her.
“I took my two luggage bags to the bedroom specified for me, then I sat talking for about an hour with my friend RB. After that, I went to the bedroom and opened my bags to put my stuff in the wardrobe.
“I noticed someone passing quickly in the corridor. I shouted ‘Who is there?’ As no one replied, I got out of the room and was shocked to see a thin man, his face masked by a scarf, holding a big knife in his hand. I got scared and trembled. Another scarfed man appeared from the other direction, also holding a big knife. When the two pushed me into the room, I screamed for help but my friend did not hear me as she stays in the adjacent villa,” she testified.
The attackers shouted at the woman and asked her to sit in a corner and keep quiet. One of the attackers pointed a knife at her and threatened to kill her if she shouted.
The robbers asked the woman for money. She opened her handbag and gave them the money she had. They asked her for more, but she told them that she had just arrived and did not have more. While the thin man was searching in the drawers and wardrobes, a third man entered the room, closed the curtains and the bathroom’s doors, stepped towards her, threatened to kill her and demanded her jewelleries.
“I told them that I had jewelleries in the luggage. They took the two bags, my two mobile phones and threatened to kill me if I yelled before they left the room,” said the victim.
They stole jewelleries worth 23,695 pounds in addition to Dh700 in cash and the two mobile phones besides the clothes and documents that were in the luggage.
The victim’s American friend, who was sitting reading in her room, noticed a man passing by the window.
“I rushed to the window and heard the dogs barking… I saw another man passing by the window, carrying a luggage. I opened the window and asked him why he is there. He did not reply and continued walking to the villa’s door and got out. He closed the door and entered a car. I opened the door and saw a black 4-wheel drive moving fast. I got back into the villa and heard a whining of a dog wounded by a knife.
The woman rushed to her friend’s accommodation and saw her in a state of shock.
“She closed the room’s door and told me that three men had attacked her and robbed her at knife-point, so we called the police,” testified the American friend.
Three days later, police arrested MA, 22, student, for a rape complaint and, searching his house, police found two black and white head cover called ‘ghutra’. They also confiscated knives and some jewelleries that the British woman had reported in the robbery complaint.
Police also arrested OM, 23, who was also involved in the rape compliant.
The two admitted robbing the British woman at knife- point along with two others HY, 25, and FO, 45, both jobless Emiratis.
Police arrested the other two robbers in Sharjah. They told the police that they were in the house of OM in Mirdif area when they came up with the idea of robbing a villa in the area.
OM drove his Nissan Patrol, went to Abu Hail area to pick up FO, and then drove back to Mirdif.
FO stayed in the car while the three got in and robbed the woman.
“When I heard a woman’s screams, I entered the villa and threatened to kill her if she shouted,” admitted FO.
FO admitted to selling the jewellery in Ajman.
The victim recognised FO who was not hiding his face with a scarf. She also recognised the appearance of the other two when shown to her with their faces masked by a ‘ghutra’ via identification parade.
The court will reconvene on March 23.