Men accuse brothel owners of sword attack

Three suspects allegedly assaulted duo with swords in flat that turned out to be a brothel

Dubai: Three suspects were accused on Monday of attacking two men with swords and knives and chopping off four fingers of one of them after the victims threatened to report to police that the attackers ran a brothel.

The Emirati man and his Indian friend were said to be searching for a place to dine when a group of Vietnamese men lured them to have a massage in a flat at Dubai International City in January.

When the two friends realised that they had been lured to a brothel to have sex, according to record, one of them told the men that prostitution is banned in the UAE and said he would be calling the police.

The Emirati testified to prosecutors that when they entered the flat, the men came with four women who turned out to be prostitutes and told them they could have sex with the women.

Three of the men jumped out of the window of the first-storey flat and absconded.

The Emirati and Indian man left the flat and went down, before they spotted a group of 10 to 12 men running towards them armed with swords and knives.

The two friends started running towards their car before the Indian lost balance and fell on the ground.

Records said the group repeatedly stabbed him and caused him severe injuries.

When the Emirati man tried to help his friend, he was attacked as well.

Prosecutors accused the Vietnamese trio of trying to kill the Indian, assaulting him and causing him permanent disability. They were also charged with assaulting the Emirati and injuring him.

The Vietnamese trio pleaded not guilty and refuted their accusations when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the trio and an unidentified number of their countrymen [who remain at large] formed a gang and attacked the Emirati and the Indian.

The suspects [the trio and the fugitives] caused 10 per cent permanent disability to the Emirati and a 25 per cent permanent disability to the Indian man.

The trio, who stood trial on Monday, refuted a list of five accusations before presiding judge Urfan Omar.

“When I told them that prostitution is prohibited in the UAE and that I will call the police, the three men who were present in the flat, jumped out of the window.

"When we went down, a group of 10 to 12 men attacked us with sharp tools. My friend fell down and they repeatedly stabbed him … he had four of his fingers chopped off. I ran towards him and tried to save him. I defended myself against stabs with one arm and used the other arm to pull my friend away. They attacked me on the head and back …,” he claimed to prosecutors.