Four men arrested for staging fake crime scene encounter

Abu Dhabi: Four men in the capital, who staged a fake crime scene encounter on the roof of a building, were recently arrested, a statement sent by Abu Dhabi Police said Saturday.

The men, all of whom are of Asian origin, were dressed in army uniform similar to the actual one and bullet-proof vests for the filming of a supposed crime scene on the roof of their building. They were also carrying props shaped like weapons and engaged in acting out a robbery or hijacking.

Three of them work as engineers. A concerned neighbour who believed the scene was for real, spotted them and called the police.

The names, ages and specific nationalities of the men were not revealed. Colonel Ebrahim Sultan Al Za'abi, Director of Al Sha'abiya police station, said a special police task force had been deployed to the scene.

"The report was about an area adjoining an important official building as well as residential complex and this seemed to be a serious operation for the police," Colonel Al Za'abi said.

"We surrounded the building and the residential complex, and when we reached the roof, we found the men acting out the scene, " he added.

"They claimed that they were acting out a scene from a video game and that it was sort of a hobby for them, as they also film it. Due to the serious nature of the incident, the men were arrested," Colonel Al Za'abi said.

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Prisoners plead for repairs to phone link from jail

Dubai: Around 4,000 prisoners at Dubai central jail cannot contact their families and loved ones due to a technical fault in etisalat phone lines operating inside the jail.

Prisoners said they are facing problems in using phone line connection for more than 10 days.

"We are facing difficulties in using phones in the jail and we cannot contact our families and loved ones outside the jail," a prisoner told Gulf News.

Prisoners said they use Dh20 prepaid etisalat phone cards for phones inside the jail.

"When we follow the process which is required to make phone calls, it is answered by Customer Service [101]," said a prisoner.

Outside world

He said many were very frustrated and upset. "We need to contact our families. Phones are our only connection with the world outside the jail," said the prisoner.

An Etisalat official said there was a technical problem with the 133 number used for prepaid cards. "We are trying to repair the service as soon as possible," said the official.

Prisoners said there are around 100 phones in different wards and buildings. Each of them gets about two hours every week to use the phone and when the time is finished they wait until the next week.

Prisoners jailed on financial charges are given more time to be able to sort their issues outside the jail.

"We urge etisalat to repair the phones inside the jail as soon as possible because it is our window to the outside world," they said.

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