5 expats cleared of posing as UAE CID officers, robbing 2 youths

Ras Al Khaimah - The suspects had been accused of robbing Dh826 and two cell phones

The Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Court has cleared five Arab expatriates of the charges of posing as cops, and robbing two young Asian men for lack of evidence and contradictory claims.
The court records showed that the suspects had impersonated CID officers of RAK Police, detained two men, handcuffed them, locked them up in a room, and robbed them.
The suspects had allegedly robbed Dh826 and two cell phones, as per the sheet of indictment, which also charged the third and fourth accused of consuming alcohol in violation of law.
The first victim told the court that he was walking in the streets with one of his friends when three men in a car stopped them and claimed that they were CID officers.
"They asked us to show our ID cards, but one of them pulled out my wallet with all the money and ID card and forced us into a house where some African expatriates were present."
He added that the suspects took his cell phone and that of his friends, before handcuffing and leaving them in confinement in a room.
Later, the victims managed to release themselves, and got out of the room.
The first victim found his wallet on a table in the hall, but his money and cell phone were gone.
The victims reported the robbery to the RAK Police, but later waived their complaint.
However, the public prosecution insisted on filing the case saying that the victims' waiver does not change the description and confirmation of the crime.
The defence lawyer requested the court to clear her clients based on the "contradictory and baseless statements of the complainants".
She added that her clients were arrested without a permission from the public prosecution.
"The first victim claimed that he was detained while walking in the street, while the second victim said he was home when an unidentified man knocked at his door.
When he opened it, five men, he did not know, pushed him into his house, robbed his cell phone, and locked him with other people there.
"These two contradictory statements proved that the entire crime is baseless and did not happen," she told the court.
The Court ruled in favour of the defendants and set them free based on lack of evidence and contradictory statements of the plaintiffs.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Ras Al Khaimah