Dubai: Four inmates were sentenced to three years in jail each for digging a hole in the wall of their prison cell, sneaking into the sewage tunnels and using a makeshift ladder to escape from jail.
The four inmates, a 36-year-old Iraqi and three Iranians, took turns to dig a hole with an iron bar before sneaking out of their cell into the sewage tunnels of Dubai Central Jail in July last year.
The quartet then used a makeshift ladder that they had made earlier from iron pipes and clothes to reach the emergency exit door located outside the jail.
Using a copied key, the quartet opened the door and used the ladder to climb up the wall and escaped into the desert.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the inmates of escaping from jail and causing damages worth Dh16,750 to the facilities at the jail.
Dubai police chased down the four accused and arrested them in desert shortly after their escape.
Following Thursday’s ruling, jail terms of each of the accused have been increased by three years.
According to the primary judgement, presiding judge Urfan Omar said the four will be deported following the completion of their sentences.
The quartet pleaded guilty when they appeared before the court.
“The hole was already there in the wall and we only dug a little more to complete it,” the Iraqi inmate told the court.
A police lieutenant testified that the jail breakout was discovered at around 2am.
Another lieutenant said that the quartet were apprehended shortly after their escape in an open area in the desert.
“During questioning, they confessed that they tried to escape from the prison and that they had been involved in similar cases earlier,” the lieutenant told prosecutors.
Thursday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
