Robber falls to death as Dubai tourist threatens to call police

Dubai - He paid them Dh1,500 but they kept threatening him, asking for more cash.

A woman fell to death in an escape bid gone wrong when the man she robbed threatened to call the police, a Dubai court has heard. The deceased and her accomplice allegedly robbed the man, a Saudi tourist, of Dh1,500 after luring him with a massage service in a flat.

Criminal charges were dropped against the deceased woman. Her accomplice, a 34-year-old Nigerian woman, faced at the Court of First Instance charges of illegal confinement, robbery, making criminal threats and violating others' privacy.

The incident was reported on October 4 in Al Barsha.

According to public prosecution records, the two women filmed the tourist against his will to blackmail him into paying them the cash.

The complainant, a 38-year-old tourist, said he went to the building following a prior agreement with a woman on WhatsApp to give him massage for Dh1,500. "I asked the defendant, who opened the door for me, about the girl whose photo was sent to me. She replied that the girl was in the room.

"I went inside and was surprised when another woman started filming me. The defendant then stood next to me and began removing her clothes. They were blackmailing me, asking me to cough up the cash, failing which they would circulate the video."

He paid them Dh1,500 but they kept threatening him, asking for more cash.

"At that point, I managed to run to the door. But the defendant then stood in my way while her accomplice grabbed me by my shirt from behind. I screamed that I would call the police. I then pushed the defendant away and left the place after taking the door's key and locking the apartment from outside," the tourist recounted during the investigation. He reported the incident straightaway.

A resident, 40, said it was around 3am when he heard the sound of an object hitting the ground. "I looked out from the balcony and saw a woman lying down. I went down and alerted the building guard."

He added that it was the first time he saw that woman in the building.

A police corporal said: "We moved to the scene and saw the woman's body near a swimming pool. We interrogated the watchman and the tourist."

The corporal told the prosecutor that the tourist was initially the primary suspect in the case of the fatal fall. "But after investigation, we learned she died after she fell while trying to escape."

The trial will continue on February 5.

mary@khaleejtimes.com