Man throws chilli powder into wife's eyes in UAE

Sharjah - She accidentally added sugar instead of salt while preparing rice.

An Arab man is standing trial at the Sharjah Misdemeanor Court for allegedly throwing chilli powder in his wife's eyes because she unintentionally added sugar in the rice instead of salt. He has also been accused of abusing and assaulting his wife.

In her police complaint, the woman said that her husband caused severe damage to her eyes, which could have left her blind.

During the court hearing, she claimed that because of excessive stress of daily chores, she lost focus while cooking the rice and put sugar in it thinking it to be salt. She didn't realise her lapse until her husband tasted the rice and started yelling at him, calling her "stupid". He also accused her of trying to "food poison" him. The woman told the court that he shouted at her saying that since he married her, he had never felt happy in his life.

She said she was shocked to find him abusing her for a "trivial reason" and shot back at her husband telling him that she had also "endured 12 years of misery" while staying with him. Following this, the enraged man slapped her in the face, went into the kitchen, mixed salt with chilli powder and threw it in her eyes. She said she felt a burning sensation in her eyes and washed them with water but it didn't help. The wife then rushed to the hospital. The medical report showed that one of her eyes had suffered damage.

The hearing has been adjourned to next month.

• Sharjah