Man charged for robbing woman in lift

dubai — A 24-year-old unemployed man, who attacked a female resident in the lift of the building where she lived and snatched her purse, was charged with forcible robbery in the Court of First Instance.

According to public prosecution records, the Nigerian man waited for the moment he was left alone with the victim, a Filipina, to attack her with the aim of snatching her purse.

“It was around 7pm when I was done with my work at a cleaning service company in the Marina area. I went back to my place in the Chinese cluster, International City,” said the Filipina woman, 27.

“As I walked in the lift, I pressed on the 2nd floor while an Indian woman wanted to go to the first. A man (the defendant)

We picked up the accused from Al Qusais Police Detention Centre around 2pm on March 13, after obtaining a prosecution approval. He had been detained in connection with another complaint.” A police officer

pressed on the fourth. Once the Indian woman reached her floor and got out, he suddenly attacked me.”

The complainant said the man grabbed her by her neck and covered her mouth. Before she could go out of the lift on the 2nd floor he forcibly snatched her purse. There was Dh2,500, 2,000 Pesos, in addition to a golden necklace and a golden bracelet worth about in total Dh2,600 in her purse.

She had also two mobile phones worth Dh 1,625.

The defendant also stole her Emirates ID, bank card and health card. When he went to the fourth floor she screamed for help in the corridor. People, who happened to be around, called the police. The accused reached the fourth floor and then exited the building through the emergency stairs.

“We picked up the accused from Al Qusais Police Detention Centre around 2pm on March 13, after obtaining a prosecution approval. He had been detained in connection with another complaint,” a police officer said.

“We had suspicions he was the man, who attacked the complainant in the present case, given the same criminal pattern. He would target people while they are alone with him in lifts, overpower them to snatch their belongings and then escape through the emergency exits. Besides, the descriptions given by this complainant helped in catching him after we checked the building CCTV footage,” the officer told the prosecutor.

The complainant identified the defendant among other African suspects three times at the police station.

mary@khaleejtimes.com