Detainee accused of arson threat

A 34-year-old Emirati trader stood trial in the Court of First Instance on Wednesday charged with threatening to set the Bur Dubai police detention centre on fire if he was not released.

A police sergeant said that he was on duty at the detention centre when the incident happened around 8pm on a day in April.

He was busy finalising release procedures of some detainees when he heard someone screaming that he would set the centre on fire. He learnt that it was the defendant. He went after the accused, who was by then at the detention yard. He asked him about the reason for his screaming but could not get an answer from him.

The sergeant asked the defendant to accompany him to his office to look into the possibility of his release but the accused did not want to go with him. When the sergeant told him there was no need to threaten to start a fire, the accused got very close to him, almost touching the former’s face.

He was about to assault the officer when the detainees stepped in and took the accused away from the sergeant. The sergeant informed the lieutenant about the incident later that night.

Another police sergeant told the prosecutor that the defendant got frustrated when he learnt there was no order to release him. The accused began to yell. Later, he was about to assault another sergeant in the detention yard.

The lieutenant in charge that night ordered the accused be placed in solitary confinement and that handcuffs and shackles be put on him. The accused pushed a policeman as he tried to handcuff him but the former calmed down after being slapped.

He admitted to the charge of threatening during investigation.

mary@khaleejtimes.com