13 charged with murder bid in Dubai

Dubai - Five of them pleaded not guilty to the attack on the cousin using sticks.

A gang of 13 Pakistani men allegedly stabbed a compatriot with knives when the latter came to help his cousin who was also attacked.
All the 13, in the age group of 20-35, have been charged with attempted murder in the Court of First Instance. The 11 of them, who attended the hearing, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Five of them pleaded not guilty to the attack on the cousin using sticks.
The case was reported on September 29, last year, to the Naif Police. "I went to my cousin's house upon the latter's request. He called me at 11pm to tell me that some people harassed and attacked him," said the 21-year-old victim, a worker, who was stabbed. As he arrived near his cousin's, a group of men attacked him with sticks. "I ran but they caught me. Some were carrying knives and stabbed me in the abdomen and thigh".
The worker then fainted and woke up in hospital. His brother, a 27-year-old driver, said that he learnt from the cousin, who was originally beaten up by the men, about the attack. "I went to my brother and saw him down bleeding. He was near the cousin's house. A member of the gang was holding a knife at the scene and he dropped it when the police arrived," said the victim's brother.
The cousin, a 33-year-old Pakistani clerk, said that the fight started after one of the accused removed his laundry from where he hanged it in the corridor in his place and put it in the bathroom. "When I asked him why he was splashing water in the corridor he insulted me".
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai