TWO brave Bahraini men foiled an attempt to rob a jewellery store in Manama Suq by chasing and cornering the suspect, leading to his arrest, a court heard.
The 41-year-old Egyptian, who stole gold worth thousands of dinars, is facing robbery and assault charges at the High Criminal Court.
One of the Bahrainis told the Public Prosecution that he was walking in the suq when he saw the defendant running and dropping pieces of gold on the floor.
“I also saw a Bahraini man chasing the Egyptian suspect,” the 33-year-old told the Public Prosecution.
“The defendant ran up to me and fell down while the Bahraini caught up with him and demanded that he return the gold.
“We both immediately cornered the suspect who promised to take the gold out of his bag. So we took a step back, but he shocked us by pulling out a huge knife. He threatened to attack us and I noticed that all the while, pieces of gold had been falling out of his bag.
“As we stood petrified, he attempted to flee, but fell down and dropped his knife.
“We immediately caught him and informed the police.”
The 33-year-old said he then proceeded to collect the gold pieces to present to officers.
Court documents revealed that the defendant stole earrings, bracelets and necklaces worth more than BD3,500.
The Egyptian, however, denied assaulting the men and said he stole the gems as he was desperate to pay off his debts.
“These accusations aren’t true,” the 41-year-old said in his statement.
“On the day of the incident, February 17, I was fired after 40 years of service and was sad. I was walking in Manama Suq when I saw the gold shop.
“I entered the store to look at the pieces on display and without being aware of my actions, I placed some gold in my bag and ran out of the store.
“When people tried to catch me, I pulled a knife on them. I tried to flee after dropping the bag with the gold, but I slipped and fell down and they caught me.
“I just stole the gold because I wanted to pay off my debts and didn’t assault anyone. I’m sorry for my actions.”
According to a 24-year-old Pakistani employee who works at the gold shop, the defendant first walked in and asked for gold bars. He told the Public Prosecution in his statement that he gave him the names of other shops as they didn’t sell gold bars.
“The defendant then wanted to see gold jewellery sets and he proceeded to take photographs claiming that he was going to buy something,” the employee said.
“One of our regular customers, meanwhile, walked in to weigh a piece of gold, which is when he grabbed the jewellery and ran away. I chased him and saw that he was dropping pieces of gold as he ran.
“I then saw a Bahraini man running after him, so I stopped and proceeded to collect the items from the floor.
“The defendant was soon caught and taken to the police station and I was called in as a witness.”
The case has been adjourned to March 28 for review while keeping the 41-year-old in custody.
reem@gdnmedia.bh
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