Duo assaults man at Dubai restaurant

dubai — A man and a woman were charged at the Dubai Court of First Instance after they allegedly assaulted a 54-year-old Swedish man and broke his nose. The 26-year-old manager and 21-year-old event coordinator, both British nationals, were charged with assaulting the man and causing him a permanent bodily injury.

The incident dates back to May 27, 2016.

The complainant, who works as a technician, said he was with his wife at a restaurant in the DIFC area. “I waited in the lobby as my wife went to the washroom. 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 wanted to call the police. But he then talked to me rudely as if I was the one who did him wrong. I pushed him off when he tried to hit me. A woman grabbed my hand, asking me why I was pushing her son.”

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 eyeglasses. He was reportedly knocked down by that man and kicked by the group.

He crawled in an attempt to stop the man from leaving in a cab. “But I was then strangled from behind by another man. Another person also kicked me before they all fled the scene.”

A Kenyan security guard, 42, said he witnessed a woman approaching the complainant as he dozed off and sat next to him after 5pm. “Two of her friends took her photo 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. The police were then called. mary@khaleejtimes.com