5 Abu Dhabi workers kidnap boss, get 15 years in jail

Five workers, who kidnapped their employer - a rich businessman - and demanded a huge ransom, have been sentenced to 15 years in jail.

The Criminal Court of First Instance in Al Dhafra area handed down the sentences to the Asian men after they were found guilty of kidnapping, threatening the Arab man and trying to extract money from him through unlawful means.

The men kidnapped their employer - who owns big projects - from one of the working sites where they were operating.

The workers then took the businessman to an under-construction building, which is located in an isolated area in Al Dhafra , and held him captive there after tying up his hands.

The men demanded a huge amount of money from the businessman to free him. They also threatened to harm him, if he didn't meet their demand.

The man told the kidnappers that he needed some time to arrange the money. And on this pretext, he somehow managed to call the police from his mobile phone and informed them about his kidnapping.

The police tracked him down and rescued the businessman from the kidnappers. The five men were arrested.

Prosecutors charged the workers with kidnapping their employer, threatening to hurt him and trying to steal his money.

The men admitted to have kidnapped the man but denied demanding a ransom.

They said the businessman owed them money as he hadn't paid their salaries for many months.

They kidnapped him to force him to cough up their outstanding dues, the men added. The accused told the court that they had requested their boss to give them their money several times, but he had refused to pay.

The men said they were planning to leave the country immediately after getting their money from the businessman. But police came and arrested them.

The court, however, rejected their claims and convicted them on the basis of the information provided by the prosecutors.

Source: Khaleej Times