2 British expats jailed in Dubai for assaulting man dozing off at eatery

Dubai - They will be deported after completing their jail sentences, the court ruled.

A man and a woman have each been sentenced to three months in jail by the Dubai Court of First Instance after they were found guilty of assaulting a 54-year-old Swedish technician and breaking his nose.
Prosecutors accused the 26-year-old manager and the event coordinator, 21, both British nationals, of assaulting a man and causing him a permanent bodily harm.
They will be deported after completing their jail sentences, the court ruled.
The incident dates back to May 27, 2016.
The complainant, who works as a specialised technician, said he was with his wife at a restaurant in the DIFC area. "We walked and I sat waiting for her in the lobby as she went to the restroom. As I dozed off, I felt someone slapping me on the face. I opened my eyes and saw a group of European people looking at me and laughing."
As the group walked away, he followed them outside. "The man, who slapped me, then stood with a group of women. I told him to wait because I would call the police. But he then talked to me rudely. Ï pushed him off when he tried to hit me."
The complainant recounted how the women slapped him with their hands and scratched him with their fingernails. He felt a blow on his nose and then a woman snatched his spectacles. He was knocked down by that man and kicked by the group.  
He crawled in an attempt to stop the man, who beat him up, from leaving in a cab. "But I was then strangled from behind by another man. A person also kicked me before they all fled the scene."
A Kenyan security guard, 42, said he witnessed a woman coming and sitting next to the complainant as the latter dozed off in the lobby after 5pm. "Two of her friends took her picture as she sat there. The victim then woke up to a loud voice. He stood up and followed the group leaving his mobile phone behind."
The guard followed the victim with the phone and saw him fighting with three men and two women. He fell down and was bleeding.
A police lieutenant said he checked the CCTV footage which captured the fight.
The assault left the victim with a broken nose and difficulty in breathing. The forensic examination expert saw it as a permanent harm.
The verdict remains subject to appeal.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai