Dubai court upholds sentences for pair who beat up and robbed cook during bogus taxi ride

Dubai Court of Appeal ruled that Ethiopian pair who took all the money a Bangladeshi cook had will serve out sentences and then be deported.

DUBAI // Two men sentenced to a year each in jail for assaulting and robbing a cook after offering him a ride to Al Rashidiya Metro station had their sentences upheld on appeal on Wednesday.

Dubai Criminal Court had convicted Ethiopians SP, 31, and 30-year-old EA, last June. Prosecutors said they approached the Bangladeshi cook as he waited for a taxi outside a family gathering in Al Mizhar. They offered him a ride for just Dh5, so he got into the car.

The cook, MJ, 42, sat in the back seat and on the way the men stopped near the Arabian Centre and grabbed the cook by the neck.

One of the attackers went through his wallet while the other assaulted and restrained him.

The pair took all the money he had before throwing him out of the car and driving off.

“It was 9.45am on November 30 last year when this happened,” the victim said. “One of them pretended to be a passenger like me and, when they stopped near the Arabian Centre, he said it was his stop. He even handed the driver Dh10 before the two attacked me.”

The victim was seen crying by a passer-by, who alerted police. One month after the police report was lodged, the defendants were arrested.

The two denied charges of theft when they appeared in both the criminal court and Dubai Court of Appeal.

However, their sentences were upheld and they will be deported after serving the time.