DUBAI // A man tried to blackmail his boss's wife into paying him US$1 million with photos he had secretively taken of her lying on her bed, a court heard today.
SA, a 30-year-old police corporal, NA, a 23-year-old soldier, both Emiratis, and MM, a 29-year-old Egyptian investor, denied trespassing into the woman's house to take the pictures. SA was said to be an employee of the woman's husband, but it was unclear whether this was in his role as a corporal.
A 36-year-old Lebanese secretary told the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance her boss's wife had called her to say the corporal had visited her house with a woman he claimed was his mother and asked for financial help. She said the wife had refused to help him as she did not know who he was.
The wife said that she then received a call from the corporal saying he had pictures of her on her bed, as well as pictures of her meeting a man in a black Mercedes. The wife was told the pictures would be shown to her husband if she did not pay the corporal $1m.
The secretary said she then met the corporal who gave her a copy of the pictures on a flash memory card to prove their authenticity. After she handed the pictures to her boss's wife, police were notified.
The corporal denied the charges, saying he had been framed by CID officers who had kidnapped his wife. The other two men also denied charges of trespassing and criminal complicity. "I don't even know where this woman lives," said the Egyptian investor.
The next hearing will be on April 26.
salamir@thenational.ae
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