Passersby foil man's bid to rob a woman at knifepoint in Dubai

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced an African to six months in jail to be followed by deportation for attempted robbery under duress.

The defendant attempted to rob an Asian woman under duress by threatening her with a knife but had to leave her and run away as she sought help from passersby.

The case dated back to October last year when an Asian woman filed a complaint in which she stated that she had been robbed under duress by an African.

A person took her by surprise from behind and put a knife on her waist while she was walking down a street in Bur Dubai, she told during investigation.

The complainant stated in the interrogations that she called out for help from passersby, adding that when a number of them came to her aid, the defendant fled away, leaving her personal bag. She later reported the incident to the police.

According to a policeman, a team of detectives from Dubai Police moved to the place where they gathered inferences and checked the surveillance cameras in the area before they managed to identify the suspect and arrest him in his place of residence.

On interrogation, the defendant, who was caught with a mobile phone in his possession, admitted that he attempted to rob the Asian woman and that the mobile phone he had was obtained from another robbery that he committed 45 days ago.