Three miscreants allegedly stole gas cylinders from a Juffair building and assaulted its security guard because he filmed them in the act.
The Bahraini defendants are on trial at the High Criminal Court on charges of aggravated theft and attacking the guard with a metal pipe in April.
Two of them are being tried as ‘repeat offenders’, which carries harsher penalties in criminal trials, having previously been convicted in assault and theft cases.
“I went out of the security room only to see three individuals trying to remove a gas cylinder belonging to the building I guard,” the 39-year-old Bangladeshi expat earlier testified.
“As soon as they saw me, two of them came for me, and I ran into the room, but they followed me. The first defendant threatened me with a metal object and told me not to leave the cabin.
“I complied because I was afraid of what they might do. The men searched the room and stole BD10 along with my mobile phone. They then stole the cylinders and fled.”
During questioning by the Public Prosecution, all suspects admitted to stealing the gas cylinders, but the second and third defendants claimed that they were following orders from their accomplice.
The second, a 29-year-old living in Hamad Town, said the trio saw the guard filming them and so the 28-year-old first defendant went to him, yelled at him and followed him into his space.
“The guard was very afraid. We took his wallet and phone based on what my co-defendant said,” he stated.
Another 28-year-old claimed that the first defendant told him that he had hit the man ‘because he moved a lot and didn’t let him carry out the theft.’
Prosecutors said the defendants used force and threats to stop the victim from resisting their actions.
According to court documents, CCTV footage recovered from the scene of the alleged crime revealed the incident.
The recording reportedly showed three individuals step out of a white car and steal gas cylinders. It also showed a man exiting the security cabin, after which two of the men entered the room.
The alleged victim also identified some of the defendants when he was showed their photographs.
The gas company that owns the cylinders was listed as one of the victims in the case.
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