Man denies being part of masked gang who robbed pedestrian

ABU DHABI // A gang wearing masks attacked a man as he walked down the street, a court heard on Tuesday.

Prosecutors told the Criminal Court that three men knocked the victim to the ground before making off with three mobile phones and Dh1,500 in cash.

One man pushed him down to the ground, while the second held a knife against his neck, and the third stole a Samsung Galaxy from him, two Nokia phones and Dh1,500.

After the incident,police showed him photos of suspects and he identified a Pakistani as one of his attackers.

The identified suspect was charged with forceful stealing and referred to the Criminal Court. “He said the men were wearing face masks, but when he identified the suspect, he was not wearing a mask, so how did he recognise him and know it was the same man who attacked him,” said Hadeya Al Hammadi, the Pakistani man’s lawyer.

She argued that CID have only relied on the claims of the victim, without carrying out any serious investigations. “They did not examine a major claim by the victim that could have easily provided tangible evidence against the defendant.”

The accuser said his phone had an app that captured the photo of the person when switched on and that the photo was sent automatically to their email, claiming that is how he recognised the defendant from the photo.

“They could have easily checked the accuser’s email and attached that evidence to the case files, but they did not even do that, which proves how unserious and incomplete their investigations were.”

The statements of the accuser were also contradictory because when he went to public prosecution, he told them he had Dh1,600 stolen from him, whereas earlier, he said that it was Dh1,500 and the three phones.

“One who lies in one fraction, lies in the rest,” said his lawyer, adding that the only reason CID attached the crime to her client was because he had a criminal record.