Massage service leads to kidnap

Two women in their twenties testified at the Dubai Criminal Court yesterday that they were both kidnapped for ransom by four Asian defendants, who robbed one of them and took indecent photographs of the other.

The four accused are ST, 30; WT, 29; and SS and CL, both 22. They were all on visit visas. The two victims were identified as 24-year-old WY and 28-year-old FC. They said they received a call from a person requesting massage services.

They said at a set time and place, a car with a person of Asian nationality inside arrived for them and they boarded it. On the way, another two people boarded the car and its route was changed from the one agreed upon earlier.

When they protested, the men allegedly assaulted them, tied their hands and blindfolded them. When the car reached a villa outside Dubai, the men asked them to pay a ransom of Dh100,000 for their release, they said.

The men also took nude photographs of a victim.

The accused attended yesterday's hearing and were remanded to custody. The court adjourned the case to February 7.

diamonds and dirhams

n Three Arab nationals being tried for theft at Dubai Criminal Court failed to appear at the hearing yesterday, prompting an adjournment to February 21. The three – KI and AH, who are in custody, and AS, who is at large – are accused of robbing, HS, Bangladeshi, after he withdrew Dh3,000 from a branch of the National Bank of Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road.

n The Dubai Criminal Court yesterday heard the case of Filipino AM, 37, a cleaner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, who is accused of stealing a diamond ring worth Dh5,000. The defendant admitted to stealing from the room of victim Hamsa Abdulkaliq while he was cleaning it.?A verdict is expected on February 2.

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