DUBAI// A good Samaritan who offered to pay a friend’s wife’s hospital bills was kidnapped, assaulted and forced to write cheques for more than Dh400,000.
The 48-year-old Indian defendant called the victim, an Indian businessman, 42, on August 23 to ask for his help paying for his wife’s treatment.
“I agreed to help and we met at a cafe in Al Rigga to hand him the cash,” said the businessman. He said when he met the defendant, two other men, a 37-year-old Indian and a Bangladeshi, 35, also showed up. All three restrained him and pushed him into a 4x4 before assaulting him.
“They demanded I issue them two cheques, one for Dh380,000 and the other for Dh25,000. I told them I didn’t have my chequebook but they forced me to call my wife and have her prepare two cheques then two of them went to pick them up,” said the victim, who signed both cheques.
The three men then assaulted him again, stole Dh400 he was carrying and a Hublot watch valued at Dh19,000.
The victim reported the incident to police a month later. The three men were arrested and during questioning confessed to charges of confinement and theft.
“My husband called me and told me to prepare two cheques and two men will come to take them, which I did,” said the businessman’s 37-year-old wife.
At Dubai Criminal Court, the three defendants denied all charges. The next hearing will be on January 26.
salamir@thenational.ae
