DUBAI // Two jobless men will each spend a year in jail after being convicted of armed robbery and trying to extort money from bosses at a health centre.
The Dubai Criminal Court found Emirati M M, 21, and Iranian M G, 22, guilty of raiding the centre armed with swords and knives in an attempt to get a weekly payment of Dh300 from the owners.
Earlier this month, the pair denied charges of armed robbery.
At midnight on March 17, the men arrived at the Golden Proof Men’s Health Centre in Al Rigga, Deira, and sat in the waiting area before taking out their swords and knives.
“They were hiding the weapons under their clothes,” said J J, 28, a Chinese partner at the centre.
He told prosecutors the pair tried to speak to him but when he did not understand what they were saying, they asked a customer to translate into English.
J J said the men wanted extortion payments from the centre in the form of a ‘security tax’ which would ensure the centre was protected.
“They demanded we pay them Dh300 a week,” said JJ who added that one of the men used a sword to open the till. JJ stalled the duo until police arrived by giving them Dh200.
They were both arrested at the health centre.
“An employee called me and told me about the incident so I called police then headed to the centre,” said H M, 44, from China.
Police officer T A, 36, said the men resisted arrest and one of them pulled a knife but he was controlled and taken into custody.
M G will be deported after serving his jail term.
salamir@thenational.ae
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