Shop owner thwarts theft bid, gets beaten up by thief in UAE

Abu Dhabi - The Pakistani accused denied the charges in court.

A customer in Abu Dhabi is accused of brutally beating up a metal scrap dealer and breaking his jaw when the latter tried to stop him from stealing old car spare parts from his store at night.  
The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance heard that the Pakistani man had gone to the scrap store in Musaffah area and chose some used-car items on the pretext of wanting to buy them. He asked for the prices of the items and then walked away after 'failed' negotiations.
Later, the Pakistani man returned to the store - in the scrapyard - at midnight, to steal the items he wasn't able to buy earlier.
The owner, who was still around, tried to stop him after he spotted him stealing the items from the store - shouting "a thief. a thief," to gather attention and get help in nabbing the man. 
Prosecutors said the thief then kicked the store owner, punched him in the face and pushed him down on the floor.
"The man then rushed to his car, which he had parked nearby and fled the scene," said prosecutors.
A medical report revealed that the store owner suffered a broken jaw and wounds to his nose and forehead..
Police patrols in the area had stopped the speeding man as he fled.
The police enquired him on why he was rushing late at night, to which the man had replied that he was returning home after visiting a friend. It was during this interrogation that the policemen received a call from the operations room notifying them about a man who had was on the run in the area after attacking a shop owner.
Based on the description of the man and car provided by the operations room, the patrol officers arrested the man and referred him to public prosecution.
During public prosecution interrogations, the man first denied attacking the store owner and the theft attempt, however he admitted to the charges after he was shown evidence that he was at the crime scene at the time of the attack and after the victim testified against him.
Prosecutors charged him with assaulting the owner of a metal scrap store, attempted theft and speeding.
The Pakistani man denied the charges in court.
The trial has been adjourned until April.

• Abu Dhabi