Abu Dhabi: A Filipina accused of attempting to rob a local exchange under the threat of violence in the capital last March, has received a seven-year sentence, the Criminal Court in Abu Dhabi ruled.
The defendant, A.L.R., 33, also faces two months in prison for residing illegally in the country and deportation after completing her sentence.
A.L.R. had donned the Emirati national dress, including a niqab (face cover), and gloves to commit her crime and conceal her identity. However, Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammad Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), condemned the inappropriate use of local attire.
The court has ruled that the suspect’s use of a plastic toy gun to “threaten” the exchange’s employees still falls under coercion and disturbing public security. This is because the toy was used with the purpose of planting fear in the victims’ minds and making them believe that their lives were in danger.
According to court documents, the perpetrator had also intentionally revealed only a part of the toy gun in order to disguise its true nature.
However, an employee’s quick intervention by grabbing the defendant from behind and making her drop the plastic gun aborted the attempted robbery bid.
The accused had also confessed to the Public Prosecution to the charges against her, adding that her motive was the build up of debts and circulars issued against her in addition to her lack of employment at the time.
Earlier, the Abu Dhabi Police revealed that the suspect had accumulated Dh140,000 in debt and was in possession of a knife during the attempted robbery.
