Dubai jewellery shop owner, sons lock up and torture staff

dubai — A 65-year-old Indian jewellery shop owner and his two sons allegedly locked up a jeweller inside their shop after they accused him of theft, the Court of First Instance was told on Monday.

The owner and his sons — a partner and a marketing officer — also allegedly denied the jeweller of his freedom inside the staff accommodation and physically tortured him. They punched and kicked him, and beat him up with a stick. They also allegedly pressed burning cigarettes on his face.

They pleaded not guilty to charges of false imprisonment and physical assault in court.

According to prosecution documents, the torture lasted for a couple of days from January 1. It was reported at the Naif police station.

The jeweller, a 43-year-old Indian, said he had an argument with one of the defendants after he accused him of stealing jewellery and damaging some pieces.

“He slapped me and told me not to leave the shop. I kept working. In the evening, the father and the other son came to the shop and also repeated the same accusations. When I denied doing anything wrong they beat me up.

“We went to the staff accommodation. From there they took me to Sharjah. They stopped the car near a restaurant and asked me again about the gold. As I denied stealing any items, one of them pressed a cigarette on my face. They beat me up again until I felt exhausted and slept in the car,” the complainant told the prosecutor.

They took him later to the staff accommodation. They kept talking about the gold until 10 am — the time the shop opened for the day. He went to work with the other staff after that.

The following day, he was denied a lunch break, he claimed. “Later, the assault continued and some workers were ordered to watch me. I went for lunch and never returned,” the complainant said. The next hearing is scheduled for April 10.