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Four teens are on trial for allegedly luring an unsuspecting expat through a dating app, trying to steal his money, beating him up and stealing his scooter.
The Bahraini boys, aged 16, 16, 17 and 19, are facing charges of theft and assault at the High Criminal Court.
The alleged victim, a 35-year-old restaurant worker, testified that in June he was riding his electric scooter on a public road when he was stopped and mugged by the teenagers.
The Pakistani man recalled that the boys snatched his phone and tried to get the PIN from him. When he refused to provide it, they returned his phone, but took his scooter and fled the scene.
“The boys and I baited the victim on Grindr, and when he got to the meeting spot, we hit him,” the 16-year-old defendant admitted to the Public Prosecution.
“I had agreed with him that we would have sex, and I told him where to go, providing him with a location. We were waiting for him there.
“We asked him to unlock BenefitPay for us, but he said no, so we gave him his phone back.”
In prosecution hearings, all four teenagers admitted to mugging the expat. They were charged with stealing property through force, and fleeing with it.
A medical report confirmed that the victim suffered only mild injuries.
Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution asked the judges to issue the maximum possible penalty in the case.
The hearing was adjourned to September 1, when the court will appoint a lawyer to represent two of the defendants.
A social worker was also ordered to evaluate the condition of the underage suspects, and submit a report to the judges. Social and psychological reports are required by law to enter criminal court records, when a child is not standing trial in a Children’s Restorative Justice Court due to having adult co-defendants.
Such reports outline the underage defendants’ family circumstances and psychological status, and possible reasons for committing the crime.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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