Men ransacked massage parlour in revenge attack, court hears

Masseuses jumped out of window after men burst into apartment

Three men stormed into a massage parlour and assaulted a staff member before stealing thousands of dirhams and electronic equipment in a revenge attack, a court heard.

Masseuses were forced to jump out of a window in fear of their lives as the men ransacked the first-floor apartment and choked a worker with a stick.

The unemployed Egyptian trio, aged 27 to 29, had gone for a Vietnamese massage in an apartment in Al Baraha, Dubai on December 30, 2015, Dubai, Criminal Court was told.

When one of the men realised his iPhone5 and Dh100 in cash were missing, all three burst into the apartment.

The defendants allegedly stole Dh8,000, a Nokia mobile phone worth Dh80, a Dh500 watch, a Lenovo laptop, an iPhone5s and another Dh700 in cash from a man working at the massage parlour after choking him.

“I was asleep at nearly midnight when I heard someone knocking on the door. A masseuse opened and when I checked, I saw a man walking in and out of the place but in a few minutes he returned with two other men,” said the Vietnamese man, 26, who was allegedly assaulted.

He said that some of the masseuses jumped out of the window to escape.

“The three attackers also jumped from the window,” said the man, who called police.

An Afghan man, 33, who was standing under the building, said that a Vietnamese man approached him asking for help.

“He was terrified, so I followed him to the apartment and heard the loud noise. I looked and saw some men trying to get out through the window,” said the witness, who helped direct officers to the location after the Vietnamese man called the police.

When the officers arrived, they found one of the Egyptian men bleeding profusely from the shoulder. The other two had minor injuries. Police took them to hospital.

Officers also found one of the masseuses hiding inside an electricity cabin in the building’s basement. They also recovered the stolen phones.

The men were not present to enter a plea against an armed robbery charge.

The case is due back in court in September, when a verdict is expected.