Jobless kidnap pair lose appeal

DUBAI // Two unemployed men who were found guilty of posing as police officers, kidnapping a farmer and his friend and robbing them yesterday lost appeals against their prison sentences.

Posing as policemen, A M, 26, and A A, 23, who both hold Comoros Islands passports, stopped R M, 35, a Bangladeshi farmer, and his compatriot, M A, 30, in International City in March last year.

“They asked us for our IDs, then told us to get into their car because they wanted to check our IDs on a device inside the car,” the farmer said. The duo drove them around the Chinese cluster of the area before A A pulled metal scissors from the glove compartment and threatened the victims. He told them in Arabic: “Money, money.”

“I gave him Dh200 that was on me, while M A gave him Dh3,700,” the farmer said.

M A told prosecutors that he refused to hand over the money until A A pointed the scissors at his face. After taking the cash, the thieves dropped their victims off and fled.

Police officer J A, 36, said the two defendants were arrested in Ajman. “A M rented the car that was used in the robbery and we were able to track it down and identify the suspects through CCTV footage.”

The two denied all charges but were convicted and jailed for a year then deportation. They took the case to Dubai Court of Appeal where the sentences were upheld.