A policeman wrongfully arrested a man and threatened to have him 'beaten up' if he didn't pay back a debt, a court heard.
The Dubai Police corporal allegedly held the Iranian man, 24, against his will and forced him to sign a statement admitting he owed the officer's friend Dh123,000.
The officer, 49 and a fellow policeman, 52, approached the man in the reception area of a hotel in Naif, Dubai, on April 28.
“He approached me in uniform and took me to his police car, where there was another officer, and told me I was arrested because I had conned people,” said the complainant.
The police officers drove him to a business office in the area, where the friend of the corporal, an Indian national, was waiting.
“He (the Indian man) told me if I didn’t sign, the policemen waiting outside the room will take me to jail,” said the victim.
When the man refused to sign the document, as it was in Arabic, he said the police officers entered the room and handcuffed him.
“They told me they would take me to jail, where they had a man to beat me up if I didn’t sign,” he said.
He said he signed the document under duress and was told it was an acknowledgement of a Dh123,000 debt his father owed to the Indian man, 48.
The Iranian said he was then escorted to his home by the Indian accused, who forced him to hand over valuables worth Dh19,000.
“He took five watches, perfumes, and a gold chain,” said the man, who informed his father of his ordeal before he reported it to Al Barsha police station.
The officers and their Indian friend were arrested but denied being part of the plot during police questioning.
The corporal was charged with disclosing information to his Indian friend regarding the latter’s criminal status, making an illegal arrest and aiding his friend in a crime at a hearing at Dubai Criminal Court on Wednesday.
The Indian man, 48, faced charges of theft and forcefully obtaining the victim’s signature on a document he later submitted to court.
The second policeman, 52, was charged with failing to report the incident to his superiors.
The three men denied all charges in court.
A verdict is expected to be passed down on July 31.