Men jailed for holding gambling games

Several men were convicted in two separate cases of running street gambling operations.

DUBAI // Three Bangladeshi men involved with two separate street-gambling games were each sentenced to three months in jail by the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday.

The men, all labourers, were seen in various parts of the city running a street game that involved gambling.

The game involved a cloth strip wrapped around a screwdriver on a small table, where customers deposit any amount of cash.

After paying, they pull the cloth. If the screwdriver remains on the table and does not fall on the ground, they double their money.

The defendants in the first case were found in Deira's Baniyas Square, where police were called on August 11.

An officer testified that he found DY, 34, a stonemason, ushering people to gamble in the street with HA, 27, a farmer, who was taking the bets.

The officer said they recovered more than Dh2,000 in earnings from the two.

In the second case, the labourer BS, 26, was arrested on October 2 at the Dubai fruits and vegetables market after a large crowd gathered around him while he was playing the game.

An officer there spotted the scene, went to investigate and found BS taking bets from bystanders.