Duo jokingly push friend into sea, cause his death in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi - His colleagues fled the scene because they feared they would be held responsible for the man's death.

Two workers have been accused of causing their friend's death when one of them "jokingly" pushed the man into the sea. The Criminal Court of First Instance in Al Dhafra heard that the incident occurred when the Asian men had gone to the beach for swimming during the weekend.
When they got out of the deep water and stood near the beach, one of the men jokingly pushed his colleague to "check his balance". The victim fell in the water, hitting his head on a rock underneath. He bled heavily and died.
His colleagues fled the scene because they feared they would be held responsible for the man's death. The men also didn't report the matter to the police.
The police later found the worker's body at the beach and arrested his two colleagues after investigations suggested that they were involved in his death.
Prosecutors charged the pair with causing the death of their colleague.
The workers admitted to being present at the beach when their colleague fell in the water, but denied killing him intentionally. One of the workers said: "While standing near the beach, I jokingly pushed him to check his balance. He fell on a rock that was beneath the water. It was just an accident. I didn't mean to hurt or kill my friend."
The men said they tried to help their colleague "but he was bleeding very heavily and became unconscious". The court said they would contact the victim's family to see if they would pardon the workers in return for blood money.
The trial was adjourned until November 26.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi