Three men who lured a gold trader to a Dubai hotel with the offer of a massage before robbing him of thousands of dirhams have each been jailed for a year.
The Indian victim, 36, was stripped naked, had Dh800 stolen from his wallet and was burnt with a hot knife by the attackers to force him to reveal the PIN for his credit card.
He had agreed to meet a woman he had befriended online when he was ambushed by the trio.
The gang found the bank code on the man’s phone and used it to withdraw more than Dh15,000 from his account.
Dubai Criminal Court heard that the victim and the mystery woman had struck up a friendship online before agreeing to meet on July 6, 2017.
“She opened the door and led me into a dark room. Then, just as she locked the door, three men showed up and started assaulting me,” said the victim.
He was tied up by the gang before being subjected to a sustained attack.
The offenders fled the hotel, leaving the man restrained, but gave him back his mobile phone and credit card.
He managed to free himself and called police.
Two of the attackers, both aged 32 and from Nigeria, were arrested and subsequently brought before the court.
The third member of the group remains at large.
It was not disclosed in court whether any charge had been brought against the woman involved in the incident.
The two defendants faced a string of charges in court, including assault, theft of a credit card and kidnap.
They were convicted and will be deported after serving their sentences.
The third member of the gang was sentenced to a year in prison in his absence.
