Massage card men are jailed over cop assault

dubai — Two men, accused of assaulting a CID police officer while they were distributing massage cards in Naif, were each sentenced to six months in jail on Wednesday.

The two Nigerians, aged 25 and 29, assaulted the sergeant and threw stones at him when he handcuffed one of them while the latter managed to get away. However, they were arrested shortly later.

The two men, a visitor and a cleaner, were found guilty by the Court of First Instance of assaulting an on-duty police officer. They will be deported after serving their jail terms. The incident took place on May 13, when two police officers were patrolling Al Nahda to arrest people who drop massage cards on cars. “We spotted some African men moving around cars and distributing massage cards. When I went to one of them and showed him my police card, he tried to run away. He resisted violently but my fellow cops helped in restraining him and handcuff one of his hands,” said the sergeant, who was assaulted by the pair on trial. “The defendant kept struggling and screaming until his accomplice came to his help. The latter threw a stone at me and injured my leg. The handcuffed man punched me in the face and chest. He also picked up a solid object and hit me with it.”

The handcuffed man then managed to break loose and run away with the other African. The officer was taken later by an ambulance to hospital as he suffered leg, face and chest bruises. The officer told the prosecutor that the accused punched and assaulted him. The two defendants have the chance to appeal the ruling within 15 days.