Three jailed for abducting, robbing man they met at a bar

Three men who abducted and robbed a man they met at a bar were jailed for 56 months each on Tuesday.

Saleh Saleh, Mahmoud Farhoud and Mohamed Alkert were convicted of aggravated theft, holding the victim against his will, slightly injuring him and carrying a knife in public. The case took place on March 12, 2023.

The court heard that the victim was at a club in Paceville with his friends when the trio of Syrians entered and started interacting with them. One of the accused then held a knife against the victim’s back and ordered him to go out with them.

The three took the victim to Saleh’s green Hyundai and drove to Pembroke. When they arrived, Faroud who had been on the front passenger seat, joined Alkert and the victim at the back.

Saleh, allegedly upon realising what was going to happen, tried to stop his friends, who started hitting the victim on the head and grabbing him by the neck.

Fearing the worst, the victim gave them his jewellery and his mobile phone. He eventually got his phone back but was warned that he would be killed if he told anyone what had happened.

The victim was then pushed out of the car. 

The three men made off with a gold choker which was bought by the victim’s father for Lm1,500 (€3,750), another necklace which had been inherited, a ring, a bracelet and a watch.

The victim called his friends and returned to Paceville. There, he saw police on  patrol near Baystreet and told them what had happened.

One of his friends recognised Saleh and found him on Facebook. The other two were also found on social media. CCTV footage corroborated the victim’s version to the police. The three men were arrested.

 In his statement to the police, Saleh denied his involvement and implicated his friends. Alkert said Saleh told the police some of the gold jewellery had been sold off to a shop for €1,750. The gold could not be retrieved because it had already been melted when the police arrived.

Alkert explained that Farhoud took €250 while the remaining amount was split between Saleh and himself. He also got to keep the gold ring and bracelet while Saleh kept the gold watch. The three items were eventually seized by the police and returned to the victim. 

The three men also refunded the victim €3,500.

In its considerations on punishment, the court took into consideration the charges brought against the trio and the fact that they showed no remorse for their action. It also pointed out that despite their statement and the fact that they had reimbursed the victim, they did not enter a guilty plea.

Furthermore, the court said, although the accused had compensated the victim, they could not have their punishment mitigated since the theft was carried out as the victim was held against his will. He had also suffered slight injuries.

During the proceedings, the victim had declared that he had no further interest in the case, but this only meant that they could not be found guilty of causing slight bodily harm since the offence required that the victim file a criminal complaint.

The court also took into account that the three men did not cooperate with their probation officers.

The court found all three men guilty of theft,  use of the weapon and causing the victim slight injuries, as well as holding the victim against his will.

Farhoud and Alkert were acquitted of carrying a knife in public, an offence for which only Saleh was found guilty and he was fined €116.47. They were each handed a 56-month prison term from which the time spent under preventive custody is to be deducted. The Court recommended that the Principal Immigration Officer deport the men after serving their sentence.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech presided over the court. Police inspectors Lydon Zammit, Stephen Gulia and Brian Xuereb prosecuted. Lawyer Nicholas Mifsud appeared for defendants.