7 jailed for robbing UAE massage parlour with swords

Abu Dhabi - The men locked the workers inside and fled the scene.

A gang of seven men has been sentenced to 10 years in jail each for robbing a massage parlour and assaulting its workers.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance pronounced the verdict after the Asian men were found guilty of theft, assaulting the workers at the massage parlour, depriving them of their freedom and threatening to kill them with swords.

Court documents stated that the men had stormed the massage parlour at an apartment in Abu Dhabi early this year. They threatened the workers with swords, beat them up and tied their hands and legs with ropes and taped their mouths shut.

Prosecutors said the Asian men then stole cash, mobile phones and other valuable items from the parlour. The men locked the workers inside and fled the scene.

The police later arrested the seven men after investigations confirmed that they had carried out the robbery. The men confessed to the charges during the police interrogation. Some of the men also told the police that they had carried out robberies at other massage centres.

The public prosecution had charged the men with theft, assaulting the workers, depriving them of their freedom by tying them up and threatening to kill them. The men denied the charges during court hearings.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi