Bounce Dubai theft victim warns not to be complacent on safety

A woman and her husband were at Bounce Dubai when three unidentified men stole their belongings from their car.

Marina Vatina and her husband were the victims of theft while at Bounce Dubai. Reem Mohammed / The National

DUBAI // Many Dubai residents would not think twice about leaving belongings in their vehicles, but one robbery victim says people should not be too complacent about the emirate’s safe reputation.

Marina Vatina, 33, and her husband, Andrej Mekionis, 35, were at Bounce Dubai trampoline park on January 11 when three unidentified men stole two smartphones and a wallet containing Dh700 from their car.

“The reason why I’m speaking out about the incident is because I want to raise awareness and warn people that robberies can happen even in the safest countries,” said Ms Vatina, who has been living in Dubai for five years.

“I don’t have much hope that we will be getting our stuff back, but I hope that the suspects are caught.”

She said that on that particular evening there were not many people at Bounce Dubai in the Al Qouz area. But when she and her husband went back to retrieve their bag from the drawers, it was missing.

“We notified management, who accessed their CCTV cameras and saw three men walk into Bounce.

“One man was seen rummaging through the drawers, while the other two were standing as guards,” said Ms Vatina. “We saw one man take the bag, put it under his shirt and go to the men’s bathroom.”

She and her husband later found the bag crumpled up behind the toilet, and their car keys were missing.

“We went to go check on the car but it was locked. It was at this point we decided to call the police,” she said. “It didn’t take long for an officer to arrive. He told us to immediately call our phones, which were off.

“We knew then that the men must have stolen them from the car, which was in the nearest parking lot.”

Ms Vatina rushed to her home to get the spare car keys to unlock the vehicle, which the police swept for fingerprints.

“I felt so violated, as if someone had invaded my personal space,” she said. “The three men just enter and go inside, and nobody stopped them or asked them anything.

“People should be careful where they leave their belongings because even in Dubai things like that happen. Many of our friends were shocked. People should not be too relaxed.”

Ross Milton, Bounce managing director, said security was a top priority at the facility and that the company provided more than 40 lockers for customers to store their valuables.

“As well as the lockers, we have clear signage around the venue advising customers to never leave their valuables unattended and to always lock them away in the lockers provided. The signs are displayed in Arabic and English,” he said.

“On top of this we also have security as well as CCTV around the venue. When any customer enters our venue they sign a disclaimer form, which clearly states that they accept responsibility for their personal possessions. While we are always saddened to hear of any incidents of theft, whether it be on our property or not, security remains a top priority and we urge our customers to make full use of the lockers.”