The robbery was stopped after the woman screamed for help.
A Dubai expat, who tried to snatch a gold necklace off a woman’s neck on the street, has been sentenced to three months in jail.
The Court of First Instance earlier heard how the 23-year-old Pakistani man’s bid was stopped after the woman screamed for help.
The court ordered that he be deported after completion of his jail term.
The incident was reported on November 30 last year at the Bur Dubai police station.
The accused remains in detention.
“I was walking home from a clinic after 10pm when a man (the defendant) got suddenly close to me from behind and tried in vain to snatch my gold necklace,” the complainant, a 32-year-old Indian housewife, recounted during the public prosecution investigation.
“I screamed for help. Two passers-by chased down the man and caught him. After bringing him to me, he apologised. I was left with some neck lacerations.”
A 41-year-old Pakistani businessman told the prosecution investigator that he witnessed how the defendant tried to snatch the woman’s necklace near a supermarket in Al Satwa.
“It was 10.30pm. She had a little girl with her. He could not remove the necklace and ran away after she screamed. I chased after him together with another man who was with me. We caught him after about a half-a-kilometer run. I spotted some scratches on the woman’s neck because of the attack.”
A 21-year-old Pakistani driver gave a similar testimony in front of the investigator. Both of the witnesses said that the defendant carried pepper spray at the time.
A police corporal said: “We found the defendant already restrained by people on the scene. He claimed he was poor and jobless. We took him into custody.”
The forensic report showed that the assault left the woman with some scratches.
The defendant can appeal the ruling.
