.jpg?20260311')
A FLEXI-PERMIT worker claimed he was threatened with a ‘tiny knife’ attached to a nail clipper, after he was allegedly abducted and assaulted by three men in a pick-up truck.
The High Criminal Court yesterday heard that the Bangladeshi man was thrown into the vehicle and attacked, despite claiming he did not know the assailants personally.
Three men stand accused of restraining the alleged victim and depriving him of his freedom through violence and threats, with the intent to profit from the crime.
The Public Prosecution also charged the Bahraini men with stealing his phone and wallet, which contained BD60, his CPR card, flexi-permit card and bank cards.
“I was walking in Juffair when a pick-up truck started following me,” the 34-year-old Bangladeshi earlier testified regarding the July incident.
“I saw the three defendants inside, who kidnapped me. They pulled me into their vehicle, locked it, and took turns beating me, while driving around the country,” he said, adding that he was in the car from 5pm to 6.30pm that day.
“We eventually ended up in Bilad Al Qadeem,” he added.
“The third defendant, a large man, stepped out of the car and approached me, threatening me with a small knife. I bit his hand and he threw the knife away.
“Then I ran, but he pursued me. He picked up a cement brick and threw it at the back of my head, and it struck me. But I continued to run until I reached a mosque and told the people what was happening. They called the police and one of the people there drove me home.”
Although the Bangladeshi was bleeding from the back of his head and suffered a seemingly gruesome injury, he reportedly recovered within three weeks of the assault.
According to a medical report, the man sustained injuries from an ‘alleged blunt-force assault’, complained of a headache and had a swollen eye.
A CT scan showed no skull fracture or brain injury. He was prescribed a diphtheria and tetanus vaccine. According to a detective on the case, the pick-up truck was a rental.
Upon showing the victim photos of the suspects, he reportedly identified all of them correctly.
A letter provided to the court by the Interior Ministry indicated that the phone number used by the victim belonged to the first defendant’s deceased sister, according to the phone company’s records.
No further information about the link between the victim and assailants was made public.
The court adjourned the hearing to November 17 and summoned two of the three defendants to appear before judges.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))