Prison sentence upheld against four men who robbed tourist in Dubai

DUBAI // A two-year prison sentence against four men who stole from a British tourist after breaking into her villa, was upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeal.

Three Emiratis and a Jordanian aged between 22 and 45 were convicted of armed robbery by Dubai Criminal and Appeal Courts.

On October 7 last year, the tourist, 58, had just arrived on a visit and headed to an American friend’s villa in Mirdiff.

The same day, the 45-year-old drove the other three to where the woman was staying then waited in the car while the trio got access to the villa.

She was in the bedroom emptying her bags when she saw masked men carrying swords coming towards her. She was ordered to sit in the corner of the room, then asked to hand all the cash she had, but when she gave them all the money from her purse, one of the thieves complained and asked for more.

The men threatened to cut her into pieces unless she showed them where her jewellery was. The tourist told them it was still in her bags so they took the bags and left after threatening to kill her if she screamed.

The barking of the dogs alerted the friend who then saw as the men walked out of the villa carrying bags. Her friend informed her what happened so she called police.

The men stole bags which contained gold and diamond pieces and £23.60 (Dh110.68), in addition to Dh700 and two mobile phones.

One of the thieves was arrested for his alleged involvement in a rape case and when police officers found swords in his possession and scarfs similar to the ones described by the victim, they questioned him about the robbery.

The man tipped police about his accomplices and police found some jewellery items with the men similar to the ones stolen for the Brit tourist.

The 23-year-old Jordanian will be deported after serving his term.