'Loan sharks' accused of beating man on roof over debt

Three men who allegedly assaulted a Bangladeshi who owed them Dh500, which had accrued Dh6,000 in interest appear before Dubai court.

DUBAI // Three loan sharks dragged a man on to a rooftop and beat him to collect on a Dh500 debt that had accrued Dh6,000 in interest, a court has been told. M M, 33, a messenger; MS, 30, an electrician; and MI, 26, an assistant electrician, all Bangladeshis, denied charges of kidnapping and assault when they appeared in the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance on Wednesday. OJ, a 33-year-old Bangladeshi, told officers that MM and another man, who has not been apprehended, dragged him off the street near his home in Deira at 3am on May 20 and forced him into a car.

He said the men held him down in the car by placing their feet on his head and drove him to a building. He was forced up to the building's roof, where the other defendants were waiting. They placed him in a chair and beat him, he said. The three defendants were arrested after a tip-off by a car park attendant who witnessed OJ being forced into the car. The attendant, identified as a JA, a 22-year-old Afghani, told prosecutors that MM had parked his car in the lot and left the engine running. A few minutes later, he saw MM and another man drag the victim into it.

"When I interfered, they told me to mind my own business because this man owed them Dh6,000," said JA, who called police and gave them the number plate of MM's car. Officers used the number plate to track down MM's mobile telephone number. They called him and ordered him to proceed to a local police station to be questioned about the incident. OJ testifed that the defendants made him undress and gave him a fresh set of clothes before they all went to the station, where they were arrested. The court documents did not provide any further information about the fourth suspect.

The court adjourned the trial until July 25. @Email:[e-mail]