Salesman on trial for assaulting cop

dubai — A salesman assaulted a policeman in Dubai after the latter tried to arrest him for keeping a lost phone, a court has heard. The Court of First Instance in Dubai heard that the 31-year-old Filipino salesman pushed the police corporal, leaving him with bruises.

According to public prosecution records, the defendant assaulted the cop after he allegedly took a phone that was left behind in the restroom of a shopping mall.

A case was registered on August 22 at the Bur Dubai police station. The defendant faced charges of assaulting an on-duty police officer and misappropriation.

“At 8pm on September 4, I was assigned with looking for the suspect, who had taken the lost phone. We learned that he worked as a salesman at a shop at the mall. We took him outside the shop to the car park and told him to get inside the police patrol car. I was trying to handcuff him but he resisted and pushed me with his hands, causing me to fall down. I got injured after my head hit the ground.”

The corporal’s colleague then helped in restraining the defendant and they took him into custody.

“The defendant admitted during police interrogation that he had found the phone, but instead of handing it over to his superior at work or to the police point at the mall, he kept it at his place,” the corporal told the investigating prosecutor.

A police lieutenant said he witnessed the incident and that they found the mobile phone while searching the defendant’s place.

The phone was given back to the complainant on September 9.

The court will pronounce a ruling on November 11.