Chinese men kidnap investor in Dubai, extort Dh2 million from him

Dubai - The trio then held the victim captive inside a room for one day

Two Chinese men, who allegedly kidnapped a compatriot by forcing him inside their car and used a stun gun on him in order to extort cash from him and make him sign cheques, have been charged in court.
The two men - a businessman and a vendor, aged 34 and 31 - also threatened the victim with a knife to force him to hand them four cheques worth in total Dh2,086,000 and Dh5,000 in cash. An accomplice of the duo is still on the run.
The trio then held the victim captive inside a room for one day. They faced charges of kidnap, illegal confinement and forcible theft at the Court of First Instance.
The complaint was registered with Al Rashidiyah police on October 17, last year.
The victim, a 38-year-old investor, said the incident took place around 6.15pm while he was in the International City to drop a delivery from his restaurant to a customer. "As I was about to get inside my car, I felt someone covering my head with a piece of cloth and others pulling me inside a car which was parked near my car," he told the prosecutor.
The victim could not see where he was taken. But he told the police that his abductors drove for about half an hour. Later, when they uncovered his eyes, he was asked to contact his wife and tell her to wire Dh2 million to a bank account in China.
He was then slapped and punched. "When I called my wife, one of the accused snatched the phone from me and told my wife that if she did not send the money, they would cut my hand and send it to her."
Worried over her husband's safety, the wife transferred her husband Dh432,000 from her personal account to the account of one of the accused.
The victim was also made to issue them four cheques. "I could not notice the company for which I issued the cheques as I was then being assaulted with a stun gun."
Around 9.45pm on October 17, the victim was dropped back near the place where he parked his car in the International City.
"They stole Dh5,000 in cash from me and one of the cheques worth Dh86,000 was encashed," he told the investigators.
A police lieutenant said one of the defendants was arrested around 2am on October 19, last year, when he was spotted near his place in Jumeirah.
The next hearing will be held on February 8.
mary@khaleejtimes.com