DUBAI // A 17-year-old girl stole thousands of dirhams in cash and jewellery worth Dh91,000 from her mother to give to four students who were blackmailing her, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.
Prosecutors said Pakistanis M H, 19, M A H, 20, M R, 18 and A H, 22, threatened to post private pictures of their compatriot, R L, on Facebook if she did not pay them.
M H, M A H, M R and A H allegedly pushed the victim to steal Dh14,000 from her mother in addition to the jewellery. When R L said she could no longer pay, they beat her up.
The four students face charges of issuing threats, blackmail, and physical assault, which they denied in court.
The victim said in records that she had been friends with M H since March last year. On one occasion M H asked to use R L’s phone. “I didn’t know he forwarded some of my private pictures from my device to his through WhatsApp,” said R L.
Soon after M H asked for money. “I told him I didn’t have much so he threatened me, saying he forwarded pictures from my phone and that he would post them on Facebook if I didn’t pay him, he even showed me the pictures,” said R L.
M H and his three friends posted private pictures of R L’s friend as a threat, after which the teenager began stealing cash from her mother’s purse. She said M H, M A H, M R and A H started sending her threatening text messages.
“In December last year, M H was fined Dh4,000 after being involved in a traffic accident and forced me to pay the amount,” said R L.
In January this year, R L stopped paying the four students and told them she would use the threatening text messages against them if they did not stop.
Prosecutors said M H met with R L and managed to delete all the messages from the girl’s phone. He then showed her a video clip of him and his friends assaulting a man and told her: “If you don’t pay, this will happen to you”.
On March 26 this year, R L said she paid M H, M A H, M R and AH Dh8,000 and stole some of her mother’s jewellery. When she no longer had cash or jewellery to give, M H, M A H, M R and A H assaulted her near her school.
“I called police after they assaulted me,” said R L.
“When my sister told me, I went to meet M H who denied everything but I snatched his phone and found pictures of my sister,” testified R L’s sister, M L, 20.
The next hearing will be on September 10.
salamir@thenational.ae