DUBAI // A man who beat up his former boss before stripping him, taking pictures of his naked body and stealing more than Dh600,000 has been sentenced to five years in prison.
MA, 22, from Iran, tricked his way into the boss's room at The Address hotel by claiming he wanted one last chat before leaving the country. The two had, until then, enjoyed a good relationship, so the boss let him in and ordered room-service lunch before going to use the bathroom.
But while he was in there a second Iranian, 20, a student, entered the room and the pair then broke down the toilet door and assaulted the boss, cutting his hands with their knives.
They then tied him up with cables and threatened to kill him before ripping his clothes off and taking photographs of his naked body. They said they would make the pictures public unless he agreed to give them his money.
The boss agreed to give the two men Dh13,000 in cash that he had on his person, as well as his ATM card and its pincode. The student then left the room and used the card to withdraw a further Dh5,000.
"He checked the balance in my account and found there was Dh700,000 so they ordered me to write them a cheque for the entire amount," said the boss. "But I told them I had financial responsibilities, so they asked for Dh600,000 instead."
The student then left the room once more to cash the cheque. When the bank called the boss for his assent, he was forced to approve the procedure.
The two men kept guard over the boss until 8am the next morning, when they tied him to the bed and took away his mobile phone. They also fed him seven capsules of an unknown substance. "I kept them inside my mouth and did not swallow them," he told prosecutors.
The two men then fled. The boss shook his legs until the cable around them became loose. He then used his feet to drag a nearby knife to within reach of his hands and cut the rest of the cable.
By the time he had finally freed himself his two assailants had been gone for about four hours. He then reported his ordeal to police.
Prosecutors said that when officers arrested the two men there were photographs of the naked boss on their mobile phones. The police also recovered nearly Dh500,000.
Both men were sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by deportation.
salamir@thenational.ae
