Four students and corporal on trial over forcible robbery

Four students and a police corporal, all Emiratis, allegedly broke into a flat and assaulted its Chinese residents in the Spanish Cluster in International City, a court heard on Wednesday.

The defendants, aged between 19 and 24, allegedly knocked on the door and as none opened for them, they pushed and kicked the door till it broke open. They tied the inmates up with ropes and stole their money.

They also intercepted and tried to rob two Chinese residents, a woman and a man, outside the flat but they were arrested by the police.

They faced charges of robbery and attempted theft with the use of force at night in the Court of First Instance. One of the accused who is a police corporal allegedly posed as a CID officer and one of his accomplices allegedly slapped the Chinese man and tied his hands up before they snatched his wallet, but police officers arrested the two before they could escape.

The defendants told interrogators that they were in Al Muhaisna 1 around midnight that night in April when they decided to go for a massage. They went to a first-floor flat in the Spanish Cluster in International City and saw a man coming out of it.

They learnt from him that he was given massage there. He gave them the number of the Chinese woman who massaged him but she did not answer their calls.

None opened the door for them. As they waited in the corridor, they saw a Chinese woman walking out of the lift. They attacked her, pulling her hair, and snatched her purse.

She called a man and he came running to her help holding a sharp tool. But they attacked him too and tried to steal his cash.

One of the defendants then went downstairs to bring the corporal’s military card and by that time, the other accused broke open the flat’s door. They assaulted the residents and stole their cash.

The Chinese woman jumped from the balcony after another man who had jumped earlier.

In the meantime, the police arrived and arrested two of the defendants. The others were arrested later. — mary@khaleejtimes.com