Guard says he was conned and robbed

DUBAI // A security guard thought he was being fined by a police officer when he was in fact being robbed, prosecutors told Dubai Criminal Court yesterday.

The 22-year-old Indian guard said he was sitting on a staircase in Al Riffa at about 5pm on October 20 last year when a man ordered him to stand up and show his Emirates ID.

“He said he was a police officer and flashed a police ID then he snatched my wallet looking for my ID card,” said the guard, adding that the man started questioning him about his residency.

“I told him my residency was issued from Abu Dhabi but I worked in Dubai.” The defendant allegedly screamed at the guard, slapped him and told him he was breaking the law by working in Dubai when his residency visa was issued in Abu Dhabi.

The guard said the defend- ant told him he would let him go that time and gave him back his wallet.

“I checked it and the money was gone, which I thought was a fine for violating the law, as the defendant said,” the security guard said.

Three weeks later, as he met some friends, the guard mentioned being fined for what he thought was a breach of the law. His friends asked him for details then told him that he had been robbed and urged him to go to the police.

The guard reported the incident at Al Riffa police station and a week later was asked to go and identify a suspect.

Prosecutors charged the Pakistani defendant, 25, with theft, impersonation and issuing insults. He was also charged with issuing death threats to the guard if he did not drop the charges.

The defendant told the court the guard made up the story because he found out he had been bootlegging.