Dubai: Two men have been accused of posing as policemen before a worker, forcing him into their car and stealing his money before they intentionally hit a police patrol vehicle chasing them, a court heard on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi worker was said to be walking to a nearby grocery store to purchase some goods when three persons in a car stopped him at night in Al Quoz area.

The driver of the car told the worker that he was a policeman, according to records, and asked him to come closer to the window. The worker went closer to the driver’s window and the latter suddenly punched him twice and stepped out of his seat, forced the worker into the back seat, and the other man seated in the back pulled him in.

The driver took off and drove to a sandy unpopulated area where the three men in the car assaulted the Bangladeshi, took away his Dh1,200, pushed him out of the car and absconded.

The mugged worker called the police instantly and informed them what had happened.

A police patrol was dispatched to the location as four victims had reported similar incidents in four days.

Policemen were taking down the worker’s statement when coincidentally the same car drove by the area.

When the car driver did not respond to the policeman’s order to pull over, the policeman and his partner jumped into the patrol vehicle and chased the car.

The driver of the car drove recklessly and deliberately hit the police patrol vehicle to prevent it from blocking his way.

Despite knowing that he was endangering the lives of the policemen, the fleeing driver crashed his car into the patrol vehicle that ploughed on to a pavement before the policemen swiftly jumped out and rushed to apprehend the men.

One of the men, a 34-year-old Emirati, turned physically violent and assaulted the policeman who was apprehending him. A 44-year-old Iranian man was also apprehended.

The duo were taken into custody for further interrogation.

Prosecutors accused the Emirati suspect of posing as a policeman, kidnapping the worker, assaulting him and stealing his money. He was additionally accused of assaulting a police officer and jeopardising his life when he intentionally swerved and bumped his car into the police car to cut its way off and evade being stopped. He was also accused of causing Dh6,900 worth of damage to the police car.

The Iranian suspect was charged with stealing the worker’s money and aiding and abetting the 34-year-old suspect. He was also charged with drinking alcohol.

According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors also accused the Emirati of possessing 11 cans of beer.

The incident happened in January 2014, but available records did not mention why was it referred to the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.

The suspects did not appear in courtroom three on Thursday.

The assaulted policeman claimed to prosecutors that four mugging incidents that had happened in which the modus operandi was the same were reported in a week.

“We were questioning the worker who had been mugged when the suspects’ car coincidentally drove by. We chased the car after they refused to pull over … they risked our lives when they deliberately hit our patrol. When one of them tried to run away and I chased him, he assaulted me,” he testified to prosecutors. Presiding judge Urfan Omar will sentence the accused in absentia later this month.