12 charged with manslaughter; victims’ kin refuse blood money

sharjah — Twelve Asian men in- volved in a phsyical gang fight, resulting in the death of two of them, have been charged with manslaughter by the Sharjah Criminal Court. The suspects used sticks and stones to attack each other during the brawl that happened in the Saja Industrial Area.

One man died at the scene of the altercation, while the other one succumbed to severe injuries after being taken to Kuwaiti Hospital. Two other men sustained serious injuries.

The accused men have confessed to the crime, after Sharjah Police witness who investigated the case and were part of the team that arrived at the crime scene after responding to the call received

We also saw stones and pieces of wood — used as construction material — scattered there, with traces of blood on them”. The witnesses

by the police operations room on January 16, testified in the case.

The witnesses said that on reaching the scene, they found two Asian men lying in a pool of blood. “We also saw stones and pieces of wood — used as construction material — scattered there, with traces of blood on them. After carrying out the investigation, we managed to identify the perpetrators, and some of the 12 accused were arrested in Ras Al Khaimah and others in Fujairah,” the witnesses stated in court. They added that the dispute that led to the fight was over financial issues.

The defence lawyer has demanded an amendment of the charges against the men. In his statement, he said that while defendants were drunk and started a quarrel, they used sticks and not metal weapons, adding that the accused also admitted to being involved in the fight during the police prosecution, but denied deliberately killing the two men.

The case was adjourned after the accused asked for a grace period, to contact the families again and ask them to take the blood money and grant a pardon.