Men jailed for trying to abduct cleaner from Dubai bus stop

DUBAI// Two Bangladeshi men who attempted to abduct a domestic cleaner from a bus stop at knifepoint were both jailed for two years on Monday.

The criminal court heard that at 5.45am on October 30 last year, the victim, R M, also from Bangladesh, was waiting for a bus to take her to work.

The defendants, D D, 26 and S M, 40, restrained her and while one covered her mouth, the other held a knife to her stomach.

They pulled her hair and tried to drag her to their car, but she fought back, broke free from their hold and screamed for help.

She said that as she struggled, one of the men slipped his hand into her pocket and stole a Dh100.

They then both fled in their car, which the woman claimed was being driven by a third man.

That day, the woman informed the police of the incident. But on her way home from work she saw the defendants standing at the bus stop, so called the police, who arrested them.

The police officer who interrogated them said they confessed to the crime, saying they intended to sell the woman.

They denied charges of attempted kidnap and armed robbery in court.

Both will be deported after serving their terms.

salamir@thenational.ae